Enrollment
181
South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Hermosa, SD
Hermosa Elementary - 04
Federal NCES profile for Hermosa Elementary - 04, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 461695000159
👥 S:T ratio 67
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 64
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Hermosa Elementary - 04 earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of South Dakota schools.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8.2:1
- small classes for South Dakota
- 25.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 181
- students enrolled
Hermosa Elementary - 04 has class sizes smaller than 88% of South Dakota schools. Computed live against every South Dakota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Custer School District 16-1 · South Dakota
NCES ID 461695000159 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.2:1
vs 13.6:1 South Dakota avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.7%
vs 28.8% South Dakota avg
-11% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hermosa Elementary - 04 compares with South Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Hermosa Elementary - 04
Hermosa Elementary - 04 is a mid-sized elementary school in Hermosa, South Dakota, enrolling 181 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.2:1, Hermosa Elementary - 04 is leaner than roughly 88% of South Dakota schools and 40% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 25.7% lands close to the South Dakota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 181 puts it in the larger third of South Dakota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 691 scored South Dakota schools.
Against 84 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #29.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 181 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 20.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Custer School District 16-1 also operates Custer High School - 01 (272 students) and Custer Elementary - 02 (269 students) alongside Hermosa Elementary - 04.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Hermosa Elementary - 04 compares
Hermosa Elementary - 04 on the metrics families compare, against South Dakota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Dakota | South Dakota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.2:1 | ▼ 40% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.7% | ▼ 11% | 28.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 181 | top 33% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.2:1
Leaner classes than 95% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
181
Bigger than 18% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
25.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 11% below the South Dakota average of 28.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
8.2:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 12% in South Dakota - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,911
per pupil, district-wide
- above South Dakota avg of $13,477
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 181 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 90.6%
Hispanic or Latino 4.4%
Two or More 2.8%
Asian 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.1%
Largest group: White at 90.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.6, Hermosa Elementary - 04 is less mixed than the South Dakota school average of 27.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Custer School District 16-1, which includes Hermosa Elementary - 04.
$13,911
Per student
+3%
vs South Dakota
Avg $13,477
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 77.4%
State 2.4%
Federal 20.2%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Hermosa Elementary - 04 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custer High School - 01 | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Custer Elementary - 02 | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Custer Jr. High - 05 | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Hermosa Elementary - 04's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 272
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 269
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 101
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Dakota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~181 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Hermosa Elementary - 04's federal record.
- Compare Hermosa Elementary - 04 against another school. Compare schools
- Custer School District 16-1's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Hermosa Elementary - 04
How many students attend Hermosa Elementary - 04?
Hermosa Elementary - 04 has 181 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Hermosa, SD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hermosa Elementary - 04?
The student-teacher ratio at Hermosa Elementary - 04 is 8.2:1, which is 40% lower than the South Dakota average of 13.6:1 and 48% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hermosa Elementary - 04?
25.7% of students at Hermosa Elementary - 04 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Dakota average of 28.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hermosa Elementary - 04?
The largest demographic group at Hermosa Elementary - 04 is White at 90.6% of enrollment, in Hermosa, SD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hermosa Elementary - 04?
Hermosa Elementary - 04 has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Hermosa Elementary - 04 a good school?
Hermosa Elementary - 04 earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of South Dakota schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Custer School District 16-1?
Besides Hermosa Elementary - 04, Custer School District 16-1 also operates Custer High School - 01 (272 students), Custer Elementary - 02 (269 students), and Custer Jr. High - 05 (101 students). See the Custer School District 16-1 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.