New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08

New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08 is an elementary school of one-room-style scale in Ethan, South Dakota, part of Parkston School District 33-3, hosting 21 students in grades pre-K through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 90% leaner than the state mean of about 204.

Within Parkston School District 33-3, which oversees 6 schools and 561 students, New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08 is one campus in the system.

Demographically, New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08 reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (100%). By comparison, Hutchinson County as a whole is about 91% White, so the school skews considerably more White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 3 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 8.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.4:1 average. Around 86% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Hutchinson County (around 38%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

In the surrounding community, census data for Hutchinson County shows the typical household earns roughly $73,977 per year, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08 is one of 19 public schools in Hutchinson County (combined enrollment of about 1,376 students).

Nearest neighbor: Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03, around 1.8 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08 has shrank 22%, going from 27 students in 2018 to 21 in 2025. Class-load math has tightened: from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 8.4:1 in 2025.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.