Best Public Schools in Box Elder, SD

Summary:

The city of Box Elder, South Dakota is home to 4 schools that serve students from elementary through high school, all part of the Douglas School District 51-1. While the schools share a district, their performance varies, with Patriot Elementary -06 and Vandenberg Elementary - 02 outperforming the district and state averages in key metrics, while Douglas High School - 03 and Douglas Middle School - 01 struggle in comparison.

Vandenberg Elementary - 02 stands out as a top performer, ranking 98 out of 201 South Dakota elementary schools and earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school outperformed the district and state in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency for grades 4 and 5, and had a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate. Patriot Elementary -06 also performed above the district and state averages in 3rd-grade English Language Arts and Mathematics.

In contrast, Douglas High School - 03 has seen a decline in performance, dropping from a statewide ranking of 48 out of 138 in 2022-2023 to 103 out of 141 in 2023-2024. The school's English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency rates for 11th and 12th-grade students were significantly lower than the district and state averages. Additionally, Douglas Middle School - 01 had the highest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 29.7%, which may impact student learning and achievement.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2024)									Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2024)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2024)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2023)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 12th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Douglas High School - 03	Public	9-12	420 Patriot Dr	Box Elder	57719	Pennington County	Douglas School District 51-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 923-0030	749	45	16.7	22.2%	535 (71.4%)	15 (2.0%)	67 (8.9%)	7 (0.9%)	58 (7.7%)	1 (0.1%)	66 (8.8%)	32.1	103^rd of 141 public high schools	27.0%		63.2	48^th of 138 public high schools	65.2%	55							45.2	20.0	42.9							35.5	32.4			38.7	37.1	$10,596	$767	$9,829
Douglas Middle School - 01	Public	6-8	691 Tower Rd	Box Elder	57719	Pennington County	Douglas School District 51-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 923-0050	670	41	16.3	28.5%	449 (67.0%)	11 (1.6%)	78 (11.6%)	5 (0.7%)	58 (8.7%)	1 (0.1%)	68 (10.1%)	34.1	105^th of 147 public middle schools	28.6%		34.5	106^th of 150 public middle schools	29.3%	1				48.5	41.5	48.0			46.1				35.0	28.7	29.5		31.1		31.5			$10,373	$787	$9,586
Vandenberg Elementary - 02	Public	4-5	561 Briggs St	Box Elder	57719	Pennington County	Douglas School District 51-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 923-0060	441	29	15.0	28.8%	293 (66.4%)	7 (1.6%)	56 (12.7%)	3 (0.7%)	32 (7.3%)	3 (0.7%)	47 (10.7%)	54.1	98^th of 201 public elementary schools	51.2%		52.6	99^th of 204 public elementary schools	51.5%	1		55.1	54.4						54.8		57.1	38.0					46.8	39.2				$11,006	$1,431	$9,576
Patriot Elementary -06	Public	K-3	421 Don WIlliams Dr	Box Elder	57719	Pennington County	Douglas School District 51-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 923-0080	890	67	13.2	30.8%	591 (66.4%)	15 (1.7%)	100 (11.2%)	9 (1.0%)	60 (6.7%)	1 (0.1%)	114 (12.8%)								(n/a)	57.9									57.0												$11,648	$1,673	$9,975

Cities Near Box Elder

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Rapid City	4 mi	26	112^th
Black Hawk	12.14 mi	1	153^rd
New Underwood	12.3 mi	3	111^th
Summerset	14.91 mi	1	50^th
Piedmont	17.54 mi	1	31^st

See the top SD South Dakota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Dakota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.