Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05

Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 is a primary school of middle-of-the-pack scale in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, part of Tea Area School District 41-5, educateing 292 students in grades K through 5. That puts it 43% bigger than the typical public school in South Dakota, which averages around 204 students.

Across the 5 schools in Tea Area School District 41-5 (2,509 students total), Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 logs that the largest single group is White at 54%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 20% Hispanic, 13% Black, 7% multiracial, 4% Asian. That is noticeably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 80%.

Looking at school resources, The school reports having 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.9:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.4:1, putting Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 40% of students at Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

With demographic context factored in, Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 46.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 47.3%.

Across the wider county, Minnehaha County reports that median household income runs about $76,880, 35% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 6%. Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 is one of 83 public schools in Minnehaha County (combined enrollment of about 34,919 students).

The closest other public school is RF Pettigrew Elementary - 17, roughly 1.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, beneath the nearby-schools average of 48.0%.

Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 operates from an inner-city location.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Tea Area Frontier Elementary - 05 has climbed 195%, going from 99 students in 2018 to 292 in 2025. The White share of enrollment ticked down from 71% to 54% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 10.3:1 in 2018 to 13.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.