Enrollment
15
South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Interior, SD
Interior Elementary - 09
Federal NCES profile for Interior Elementary - 09, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 72/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 468043701245
👥 S:T ratio 88
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 88
📋 Attendance 83
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Interior Elementary - 09 earns 72/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of South Dakota schools.
- 72
- Resource Index · Higher
- 3:1
- small classes for South Dakota
- 51.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 15
- students enrolled
Interior Elementary - 09 has class sizes smaller than 99% of South Dakota schools. Computed live against every South Dakota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Kadoka Area School District 35-2 · South Dakota
NCES ID 468043701245 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
3:1
vs 13.6:1 South Dakota avg
-78% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
51.5%
vs 28.8% South Dakota avg
+79% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Interior Elementary - 09 compares with South Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Interior Elementary - 09
Interior Elementary - 09 is a higher-need, small elementary school in Interior, South Dakota, enrolling 15 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 3:1, Interior Elementary - 09 is leaner than roughly 99% of South Dakota schools and 78% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 51.5% of students qualify for free meals, 79% above the South Dakota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of South Dakota schools, with 15 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 691 South Dakota schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly American Indian / Alaska Native (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 60 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.7% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Kadoka Area School District 35-2 spends $17,032 per pupil, 26% above the South Dakota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 43.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 3 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 15 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Kadoka Area School District 35-2 also operates Kadoka Elementary - 02 (118 students) and Kadoka Area High School - 01 (71 students) alongside Interior Elementary - 09.
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 Interior Elementary - 09 compares
Interior Elementary - 09 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 | 3:1 | ▼ 78% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 51.5% | ▲ 79% | 28.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 15 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
3:1
Leaner classes than 99% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
15
Bigger than 2% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
51.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 79% above the South Dakota average of 28.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
3:1
students per teacher
- 78% below state mean
Top 1% in South Dakota - lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$17,032
per pupil, district-wide
- above South Dakota avg of $13,477
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.0 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
American Indian / Alaska Native 86.7%
White 6.7%
Hispanic or Latino 6.7%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 86.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.9, Interior Elementary - 09 is less mixed than the South Dakota school average of 27.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kadoka Area School District 35-2, which includes Interior Elementary - 09.
$17,032
Per student
+26%
vs South Dakota
Avg $13,477
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.8%
State 23.8%
Federal 43.3%
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 Interior Elementary - 09 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kadoka Elementary - 02 | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kadoka Area High School - 01 | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kadoka Middle School - 03 | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Longvalley Elementary - 10 | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Midland Elementary - 11 | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Interior Elementary - 09's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 118
- Students per teacher
- 9.1:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 71
- Students per teacher
- 10.1:1
- Resource Index
- 62/100
- Enrollment
- 51
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 22
- Students per teacher
- 5.5:1
- Resource Index
- 66/100
- Enrollment
- 6
- Students per teacher
- 3:1
- 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 (~15 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Interior Elementary - 09's federal record.
- Compare Interior Elementary - 09 against another school. Compare schools
- Kadoka Area School District 35-2'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 Interior Elementary - 09
How many students attend Interior Elementary - 09?
Interior Elementary - 09 has 15 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Interior, SD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Interior Elementary - 09?
The student-teacher ratio at Interior Elementary - 09 is 3:1, which is 78% lower than the South Dakota average of 13.6:1 and 81% 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 Interior Elementary - 09?
51.5% of students at Interior Elementary - 09 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Dakota average of 28.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Interior Elementary - 09?
The largest demographic group at Interior Elementary - 09 is American Indian / Alaska Native at 86.7% of enrollment, in Interior, SD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Interior Elementary - 09?
Interior Elementary - 09 has a Resource Investment Index of 72/100 (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 Interior Elementary - 09 a good school?
Interior Elementary - 09 earns 72/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% 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 Kadoka Area School District 35-2?
Besides Interior Elementary - 09, Kadoka Area School District 35-2 also operates Kadoka Elementary - 02 (118 students), Kadoka Area High School - 01 (71 students), and Kadoka Middle School - 03 (51 students). See the Kadoka Area School District 35-2 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.