Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03

Set in Parkston, South Dakota, Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03 is a minimally staffed elementary school, operated by Parkston School District 33-3. It teaches 31 students across grades pre-K through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 85% below the state mean of about 204.

Within Parkston School District 33-3, which oversees 6 schools and 561 students, Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03 is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03 shows that nearly all students (100%) are White. That is meaningfully more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 91%.

On the resource side, The school lists 3 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 12.4:1. The state averages around 15.4:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 90% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Hutchinson County runs at roughly 38%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03 performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 26.0%, the actual is 29.3%, a residual of +3.3 points.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Hutchinson County put median household earnings sit near $73,977, roughly 29% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03 is one of 19 public schools in Hutchinson County (combined enrollment of about 1,376 students).

New Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 08 is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.8 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 3 other public schools.

The school occupies a rural site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count grew 7%: 29 students in 2018 compared to 31 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 12.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Old Elm Spring Colony Elementary - 03 typically covers open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.