Rustic Acres Elementary - 04

Set in Madison, South Dakota, Rustic Acres Elementary - 04 is a very small elementary campus, part of Chester Area School District 39-1. It serves 41 students across grades K through 8. By comparison, South Dakota's public schools average about 204 students each, so Rustic Acres Elementary - 04 sits 80% leaner than that benchmark.

Chester Area School District 39-1 runs 7 schools in total, collectively educating 582 students. Rustic Acres Elementary - 04 is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Rustic Acres Elementary - 04 lists that 100% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. That is visibly more White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 91%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 3 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.7:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.4:1 average.

In the surrounding community, census data for Lake County shows median household earnings sit near $76,808, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Across Lake County's 21 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,009 students), Rustic Acres Elementary - 04 is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Orland Colony Elementary - 04, roughly 6.2 miles away. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint.

Geographically, the school is in a low-density area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Rustic Acres Elementary - 04 has edged up 95%, going from 21 students in 2018 to 41 in 2025. Class-load math has rose: from 10.5:1 in 2018 to 13.7:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.