Elementary school (grades K-5) · Rapid City, SD

Pinedale Elementary - 11

Federal NCES profile for Pinedale Elementary - 11, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 465982000547
0/100100/10047/100
👥 S:T ratio
32
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
78
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Pinedale Elementary - 11 earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of South Dakota schools.

#1 of 10
elementary schools in Rapid City · Resource Index
47
Resource Index · Typical
17.1:1
large classes for South Dakota
7.7%
free-lunch eligible

Pinedale Elementary - 11 has class sizes larger than 86% of South Dakota schools. Computed live against every South Dakota school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Pinedale Elementary - 11 ranks #1 of 10 elementary schools in Rapid City, SD.

Enrollment

377

South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.1:1

vs 13.6:1 South Dakota avg

+26% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

7.7%

vs 28.8% South Dakota avg

-73% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Pinedale Elementary - 11 compares with South Dakota and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Pinedale Elementary - 11

Pinedale Elementary - 11 is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Rapid City, South Dakota, enrolling 377 students.

Class loads run heavy: 17.1:1 is larger than about 86% of South Dakota schools and 26% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 7.7% free-meal eligibility runs 73% below the South Dakota average.

Enrollment of 377 puts it in the larger third of South Dakota schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 691 scored South Dakota schools.

Against 71 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #25.

Its student body is led by White (80%) and Two or More (8%) (diversity index 35/100).

Attendance holds up well here: only 8.8% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Its district draws 18.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Rapid City's elementary schools, it stands alongside Valley View Elementary - 13 (605 students): Pinedale Elementary - 11 is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.1:1 vs 18.9:1).

Rapid City Area School District 51-4 also operates Central High School - 41 (1,998 students) and Stevens High School - 42 (1,771 students) alongside Pinedale Elementary - 11.

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 Pinedale Elementary - 11 compares

Pinedale Elementary - 11 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 17.1:1 ▲ 26% 13.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 7.7% ▼ 73% 28.8% 51.7%
Enrollment 377 top 17% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

17.1:1
Leaner classes than 30% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
377
Bigger than 44% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
7.7%
free-lunch eligible - 73% below the South Dakota average of 28.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.1:1
students per teacher - 26% above state mean
Top 86% in South Dakota - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
8.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$11,191
per pupil, district-wide - below South Dakota avg of $13,477
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.9 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 79.8%
Two or More 8.2%
Hispanic or Latino 6.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.2%
Asian 1.6%
African American 0.8%

Largest group: White at 79.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 35.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 35.1, Pinedale Elementary - 11 is more mixed than the South Dakota school average of 27.6.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rapid City Area School District 51-4, which includes Pinedale Elementary - 11.

$11,191
Per student
-17%
vs South Dakota
Avg $13,477
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 54.3%
State 26.7%
Federal 18.9%

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 Pinedale Elementary - 11 Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Central High School - 41 Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Stevens High School - 42 Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
South Middle School - 36 Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Southwest Middle School - 38 Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
East Middle School - 30 Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Pinedale Elementary - 11's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Rapid City Area School District 51-4 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Rapid City

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Pinedale Elementary - 11's federal record.

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 Pinedale Elementary - 11

How many students attend Pinedale Elementary - 11?

Pinedale Elementary - 11 has 377 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Rapid City, SD.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Pinedale Elementary - 11?

The student-teacher ratio at Pinedale Elementary - 11 is 17.1:1, which is 26% higher than the South Dakota average of 13.6:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pinedale Elementary - 11?

7.7% of students at Pinedale Elementary - 11 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Dakota average of 28.8%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pinedale Elementary - 11?

The largest demographic group at Pinedale Elementary - 11 is White at 79.8% of enrollment, in Rapid City, SD.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Pinedale Elementary - 11?

Pinedale Elementary - 11 has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Pinedale Elementary - 11 rank among elementary schools in Rapid City?

By Resource Investment Index, Pinedale Elementary - 11 ranks #1 of 10 elementary schools in Rapid City, SD. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Rapid City on the city page.

Is Pinedale Elementary - 11 a good school?

Pinedale Elementary - 11 earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% 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 Rapid City Area School District 51-4?

Besides Pinedale Elementary - 11, Rapid City Area School District 51-4 also operates Central High School - 41 (1,998 students), Stevens High School - 42 (1,771 students), and South Middle School - 36 (618 students). See the Rapid City Area School District 51-4 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.