Enrollment
172
Elementary
DISTRICT 108 · STATE 204
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WHITE RIVER SCHOOL DISTRICT 47-1·NCES 467857000753
White River Elementary - 02
501 E 3rd St, White River, SD 57579 · (605) 259-3137 · Mellette County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL172 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 17% of South Dakota public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
11.1:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.8:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
169 students
DISTRICT 96% · 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 | 20 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 28 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 24 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 31 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 25 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 28 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 16 | 9% |
This year's kindergarten class (28) is 75% larger than its 5th grade class (16).
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 34% · 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 White River School District 47-1. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SD Smarter Balanced 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
22.7%
SD avg 50.3% . +0.3pp since 2022
Math
22.7%
SD avg 47.5% . +3.7pp since 2022
What this means: On the SD Smarter Balanced, South Dakota's statewide test, about 23 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Dakota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 47. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2022, while math scores are up about 4 points.
SD Smarter Balanced results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 22.7% | 22.7% |
| 2023-24 | 23.2% | 23.2% |
| 2022-23 | 22.4% | 19.0% |
% 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
19.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.8%
based on SD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 20% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% 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 White River Elementary - 02
White River Elementary - 02's state test result (19.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| White River Elementary - 02 this school | 172 | 98.3% | 19.5% |
| Andes Central Elementary - 02 Lake Andes | 184 | 100.0% | 24.4% |
| Dupree Elementary - 02 Dupree | 203 | 100.0% | 27.1% |
| Batesland School - 01 Batesland | 175 | 100.0% | N/A |
| McLaughlin Elementary - 02 McLaughlin | 203 | 100.0% | 11.5% |
| Bennett County Elementary School - 03 Martin | 217 | 100.0% | 20.1% |
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 White River Elementary - 02 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.5% | #183 of 193 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.7% | #184 of 199 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 22.7% | #187 of 202 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 172 | #148 of 331 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.3% | #22 of 209 |
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
172
+31 (+22%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 150
Student : Teacher
11.1:1
was 8.8:1
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 | 172 | 15.5 | 11.1:1 | 98% (169) |
| 2023-24 | 164 | 15.8 | 10.4:1 | 100% (164) |
| 2022-23 | 165 | 16.8 | 9.8:1 | 100% (165) |
| 2020-21 | 141 | 16 | 8.8:1 | 94% (133) |
| 2017-18 | 167 | 17.5 | 9.5:1 | 100% (167) |
| 2015-16 | 189 | 16 | 11.8:1 | 100% (189) |
| 2010-11 | 170 | 16 | 10.6:1 | 98% (167) |
| 2000-01 | 171 | 13 | 13.2:1 | 79% (135) |
| 1990-91 | 150 | 12 | 12.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for White River Elementary - 02.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (167 to 172); teachers down 11% (17.5 to 15.5).
About White River Elementary - 02
White River Elementary - 02 is a public elementary school in White River, South Dakota. School enrollment was 172 students in 2024-25, in pre-K through 5.
White River School District 47-1 (4 schools, 420 students) runs White River Elementary - 02.
At White River Elementary - 02, Native American students make up 69% of the student body. Next come 19% White and 10% multiracial. White River Elementary - 02's diversity index is 48%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal data list 15.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at White River Elementary - 02 in 2024-25, for a ratio of 11.1:1. That is 4.3 students per teacher below the 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in South Dakota. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 98%. That tracks the 97% average for public schools in Mellette County.
allk12 grades White River Elementary - 02 a C-. The grade compares the school only with South Dakota public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, White River Elementary - 02 falls in the middle 80% of South Dakota schools: 19.5% actual against 22.8% predicted.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Mellette County show that the median household income is $54,076, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 28% of residents live below the federal poverty line. White River Elementary - 02 is one of 5 public schools in the county.
Nearby, White River Middle School - 04 is less than a tenth of a mile away. Within five miles of White River Elementary - 02, there are 2 other public schools.
In the federal locale system, White River Elementary - 02 is coded Rural: Remote, for schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
Over 4 years, White River Elementary - 02's enrollment grew 22%, to 172. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 8.8:1 to 11.1:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at White River Elementary - 02. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Mellette County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,943
Census ACS
Median income
$54,076
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
28%
Below federal line
Schools in county
5
420 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in White River School District 47-1
- White River High School - 01High · 112 students
- White River Middle School - 04Middle · 93 students
- Norris Elementary - 08Elementary · 43 students
Other schools in White River
- White River High School - 01High · 112 students
- White River Middle School - 04Middle · 93 students
Other White River Elementary schools
One other US public school is named White River Elementary. White River Elementary - 02 is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- White River Elementary SchoolNoblesville, IN · 605 students
Nearby schools
- White River Middle School - 040.0 mi · 93
- White River High School - 010.1 mi · 112
- Todd County Achievement High School - 1718.9 mi · 46
- Todd County Achievement Middle School - 1819.0 mi · 9
- Todd County High School - 0119.0 mi · 447
- Todd County Middle School - 1019.2 mi · 353
Frequently asked questions
About White River Elementary - 02What is the total enrollment at White River Elementary - 02?
White River Elementary - 02 enrolls approximately 172 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does White River Elementary - 02 serve?
White River Elementary - 02 serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does White River Elementary - 02 have?
White River Elementary - 02 employs 16 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.1:1.
What is the student diversity at White River Elementary - 02?
Student demographics at White River Elementary - 02 are roughly 19% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is White River Elementary - 02 public or private?
White River Elementary - 02 is a public K-12 school, overseen by White River School District 47-1.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.