Enrollment
52
Elementary
STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTH CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT 26-5·NCES 460767000882
South Central Elementary - 03
401 Birdsell St, Bonesteel, SD 57317 · (605) 654-2314 · Gregory County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL52 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded South Dakota public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
7.1:1
7 FTE teachers
STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
69%
36 students
STATE 42%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 6 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 8 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 11 | 21% |
| Grade 2 | 7 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 9 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 4 | 8% |
| Grade 5 | 7 | 13% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 53% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
South Central Elementary - 03→Whole Grade Sharing with Burke - 04
Based on grade levels within South Central School District 26-5. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at South Central Elementary - 03.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
55.0%
SD avg 50.3% . -15.6pp since 2022
Math
50.0%
SD avg 47.5% . -14.7pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores are down about 16 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 15 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55.0% | 50.0% |
| 2023-24 | 66.7% | 53.3% |
| 2022-23 | 70.6% | 64.7% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SD Smarter Balanced. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of SD schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
56.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.7%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+21.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 35% typical for South Dakota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 22 points, placing it in South Dakota's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like South Central Elementary - 03
South Central Elementary - 03's state test result (56.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Central Elementary - 03 this school | 52 | 69.2% | 56.3% |
| Waubay Elementary - 02 Waubay | 88 | 64.8% | 53.3% |
| Jones County Elementary - 02 Murdo | 74 | 59.5% | 76.4% |
| Big Stone City Elementary - 01 Big Stone City | 60 | 60.0% | 60.9% |
| Colome Elementary - 02 Colome | 65 | 53.8% | 42.4% |
| Kadoka Elementary - 02 Kadoka | 118 | 51.7% | 63.6% |
Matched among South Dakota elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where South Central Elementary - 03 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 52 | #246 of 331 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
52
+10 (+24%) vs 2020
-66% since 1990-91, when it was 153
Student : Teacher
7.1:1
was 6.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 52 | 7.3 | 7.1:1 | 69% (36) |
| 2023-24 | 58 | 7.2 | 8.1:1 | 69% (40) |
| 2022-23 | 45 | 7.6 | 5.9:1 | 60% (27) |
| 2020-21 | 42 | 7 | 6.0:1 | 52% (22) |
| 2017-18 | 60 | 8.1 | 7.4:1 | 55% (33) |
| 2015-16 | 64 | 7 | 9.1:1 | 55% (35) |
| 2010-11 | 73 | 7 | 10.4:1 | 74% (54) |
| 2000-01 | 96 | 9 | 10.7:1 | 70% (67) |
| 1990-91 | 153 | 10 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Central Elementary - 03.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (60 to 52); teachers down 10% (8.1 to 7.3).
About South Central Elementary - 03
South Central Elementary - 03 is a very small elementary school found in Bonesteel, South Dakota. The school has 52 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 5. Elementary schools in South Dakota average about 204 students, which makes this school 75% below average.
South Central School District 26-5 is the district for South Central Elementary - 03.
The largest group at South Central Elementary - 03 is White students, at 62%. The remaining students are 37% Native American. Among people living in Gregory County, the White share is about 87%. The diversity index for South Central Elementary - 03 is 49%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are 7.3 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 7.1:1. The gap from the 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in South Dakota is 8.3 students per teacher. On the income side, 69% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The 44% average for public schools in Gregory County is 25 points lower.
South Central Elementary - 03 earns an A- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 80% of South Dakota public elementary schools.
South Central Elementary - 03 ranks in the top 10% of South Dakota schools after adjusting test results for student poverty. Actual: 56.3%. Predicted: 34.7%. Difference: 21.6 points.
For Gregory County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $62,917, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 22%, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. The county has 8 public schools and about 755 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, BOYD COUNTY ELEMENTARY (BUTTE), is about 12.7 miles. Among the 6 closest schools with test data, this one included, South Central Elementary - 03 ranks 4th on average proficiency.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Remote.
A 24% gain took enrollment from 42 in 2020-21 to 52 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 6.0:1 to 7.1:1.
This page is set up for the South Central Elementary - 03 community to discuss homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Gregory County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
4,016
Census ACS
Median income
$62,917
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
755 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in South Central School District 26-5
Other South Central Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 6 states are named South Central Elementary. South Central Elementary - 03 is the 7th largest of the 7.
- South Central Elementary SchoolUnion Mills, IN · 523 students
- South Central Elementary SchoolCanonsburg, PA · 450 students
- South Central Elementary SchoolGreenwich, OH · 372 students
- South Central ElementaryElizabeth, IN · 344 students
- South Central ElementaryChuckey, TN · 171 students
Nearby schools
- BOYD COUNTY ELEMENTARY (BUTTE)12.7 mi · 68
- Burke Elementary - 0218.5 mi · 105
- Burke High School - 0118.5 mi · 94
- Burke Middle School - 0418.5 mi · 62
- BOYD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL (SPENCER)18.8 mi · 97
- BOYD COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL (SPENCER)18.8 mi · 92
Frequently asked questions
About South Central Elementary - 03How many students attend South Central Elementary - 03?
South Central Elementary - 03 enrolls approximately 52 students in grades PK-05.
Is South Central Elementary - 03 an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Central Elementary - 03 is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does South Central Elementary - 03 have?
South Central Elementary - 03 employs 7 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 7.1:1.
What is the student diversity at South Central Elementary - 03?
Student demographics at South Central Elementary - 03 are roughly 62% White, 2% Two or more.
What district is South Central Elementary - 03 in?
South Central Elementary - 03 is part of South Central School District 26-5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.