Ralph Witters Elementary

As a medium-sized elementary-level community in Thermopolis, Wyoming, Ralph Witters Elementary serves 214 students from grades pre-K through 4, run under Hot Springs County School District #1.

Within Hot Springs County School District #1, which oversees 3 schools and 584 students, Ralph Witters Elementary is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Ralph Witters Elementary reports that 85% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority; the rest consists of 7% Hispanic, 6% multiracial.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school reports having 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 11.3:1. The state averages about 10.6:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 48% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Ralph Witters Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 53.0%, the actual is 61.8%, a residual of +8.9 points.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Hot Springs County shows the typical household earns roughly $61,250 per year, roughly 27% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Hot Springs County runs 4 public schools (combined enrollment of about 584 students), of which Ralph Witters Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is Hot Springs County High School, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Ralph Witters Elementary. On composite proficiency, Ralph Witters Elementary comes 4th of 5 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 63.0%.

Ralph Witters Elementary operates from a rural location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count contracted 15%: 251 students in 2018 compared to 214 in 2025. The White share of enrollment declined from 94% to 85% over that span.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.