Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01

Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 is one of the high-enrollment primary schools in Tea, South Dakota, overseen by Tea Area School District 41-5, with 538 students on its rolls from grades K through 5. By comparison, South Dakota's public schools average about 204 students each, so Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 sits 164% larger than that benchmark.

Across the 5 schools in Tea Area School District 41-5 (2,509 students total), Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 shows that nearly all students (85%) are White. The remainder is composed of 7% multiracial, 6% Hispanic.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 31 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.2:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 15.4:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 14% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 57.1%; this one delivers 64.4%.

Across the wider county, census data for Lincoln County shows median household earnings sit near $99,166, roughly 44% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Lincoln County runs 26 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,530 students), of which Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 is one.

Nearest neighbor: Tea Area Middle School - 02, around 0.2 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Tea Area Legacy Elementary - 01 ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 59.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a town-center area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 24%: 710 students in 2018 compared to 538 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 92% to 85%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 18.2:1 in 2018 to 17.2:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.