Enrollment
95
Elementary
DISTRICT 58 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SMEE SCHOOL DISTRICT 15-3·NCES 467560000698
Wakpala Elementary - 02
12250 SD Hwy 1806, Wakpala, SD 57658 · (605) 845-3040 · Corson County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL95 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 41% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats 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
9.8:1
10 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 8.7:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
95 students
DISTRICT 100% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 21 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 14 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 13 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 17 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 13 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 17 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (21) is 24% larger than its 5th grade class (17).
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 9% · 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
Based on grade levels within Smee School District 15-3. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
51.3%
SD avg 50.3% . +13.5pp since 2022
Math
30.8%
SD avg 47.5%
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores are up about 14 points since 2022.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 51.3% | 30.8% |
| 2023-24 | 46.3% | 19.5% |
| 2022-23 | 37.8% | N/A |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
30.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.1%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 22% typical for South Dakota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among South Dakota's top nor bottom 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 Wakpala Elementary - 02
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakpala Elementary - 02 this school | 95 | 100.0% | 30.2% |
| Eagle Butte Primary - 02 Eagle Butte | 85 | 98.8% | N/A |
| Wounded Knee District School Manderson | 146 | 97.9% | N/A |
| Little Eagle School Little Eagle | 62 | 95.2% | N/A |
| Pahin Sinte Owayawa Porcupine | 155 | 98.1% | N/A |
| Pierre Indian Learning Center Pierre | 156 | 98.1% | N/A |
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 Wakpala Elementary - 02 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 95 | #213 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
95
+17 (+22%) vs 2020
+42% since 1990-91, when it was 67
Student : Teacher
9.8:1
was 8.7:1
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 | 95 | 9.7 | 9.8:1 | 100% (95) |
| 2023-24 | 84 | 9.9 | 8.5:1 | 100% (84) |
| 2022-23 | 85 | 10 | 8.5:1 | 100% (85) |
| 2020-21 | 78 | 9 | 8.7:1 | 100% (78) |
| 2017-18 | 91 | 10.6 | 8.6:1 | 100% (91) |
| 2015-16 | 85 | 10 | 8.5:1 | 100% (85) |
| 2010-11 | 144 | 14 | 10.3:1 | 98% (141) |
| 2000-01 | 97 | 8 | 12.1:1 | 97% (94) |
| 1990-91 | 67 | 6 | 11.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wakpala Elementary - 02.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (91 to 95); teachers down 8% (10.6 to 9.7).
About Wakpala Elementary - 02
Wakpala Elementary - 02 is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in Wakpala, South Dakota. It reported 95 students in kindergarten through 5 in 2024-25. Elementary schools in South Dakota average about 204 students, which makes this school 53% below average.
The district for Wakpala Elementary - 02 is Smee School District 15-3, with 3 schools and 174 students.
The share of Native American students at Wakpala Elementary - 02 is 97%. Enrollment also includes 2% White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 6%.
A staff of 9.7 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 9.8:1. The average for elementary schools in South Dakota is 15.4:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. By family income, 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The figure for public schools in Corson County is close, at 99%.
Wakpala Elementary - 02 earns a C+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 41% of South Dakota public elementary schools.
Wakpala Elementary - 02 scores 30.2% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 22.1%.
The school's county is Corson County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $46,406 a year, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 34% of residents are in poverty. There are 11 public schools in the county, enrolling about 858, Wakpala Elementary - 02 among them.
Of the public schools around it, Wakpala Elementary - 02 is closest to Wakpala High School - 01, less than a tenth of a mile away. Wakpala Elementary - 02 has 2 other public schools within five miles. Wakpala Elementary - 02's average proficiency of 30.2% compares with 43.5% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Under the NCES locale system, Wakpala Elementary - 02 is Rural: Remote.
A 22% gain took enrollment from 78 in 2020-21 to 95 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 8.7:1 to 9.8:1.
Wakpala Elementary - 02 has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Corson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,806
Census ACS
Median income
$46,406
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
34%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
858 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Smee School District 15-3
- Wakpala Middle School - 04Middle · 41 students
- Wakpala High School - 01High · 38 students
Other schools in Wakpala
- Wakpala Middle School - 04Middle · 41 students
- Wakpala High School - 01High · 38 students
Nearby schools
- Wakpala High School - 010.0 mi · 38
- Wakpala Middle School - 040.0 mi · 41
- Mobridge High School - 017.1 mi · 194
- Mobridge Middle School - 027.1 mi · 110
- Mobridge Upper Elementary - 047.1 mi · 143
- Freeman Davis Elementary - 037.5 mi · 149
Frequently asked questions
About Wakpala Elementary - 02How many students attend Wakpala Elementary - 02?
Wakpala Elementary - 02 enrolls approximately 95 students in grades KG-05.
Is Wakpala Elementary - 02 an elementary, middle, or high school?
Wakpala Elementary - 02 is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Wakpala Elementary - 02 have?
Wakpala Elementary - 02 employs 10 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Wakpala Elementary - 02?
Student demographics at Wakpala Elementary - 02 are roughly 2% White, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Wakpala Elementary - 02?
Wakpala Elementary - 02 is overseen by Smee School District 15-3 in Corson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.