Best Public Schools in Bridgewater, SD

Summary:

The city of Bridgewater, South Dakota is home to a single elementary school, Bridgewater-Emery Elementary - 02, which serves students in grades PK-5. This school has consistently demonstrated strong academic performance, ranking among the top 40 elementary schools in the state over the past three years and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Bridgewater-Emery Elementary - 02 stands out for its exceptional proficiency rates on Smarter Balanced Assessments, exceeding the district and state averages across multiple grade levels and subject areas, including English Language Arts and Mathematics. The school's 5th grade science proficiency rate of 43.48% in 2024-2025 is also higher than the state average of 40.54%. With a student-teacher ratio of 13:1 and per-student spending of $12,641, the school appears to be effectively allocating resources to support student learning and well-being.

While the school serves a population with a relatively high free/reduced lunch rate of 39.62%, it is still able to achieve strong academic outcomes, suggesting the school's ability to support students from diverse backgrounds. However, the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 20.2% in 2024-2025 is an area that could be further investigated to understand the underlying causes and implement strategies to improve student attendance.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Bridgewater-Emery Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	510 N Main St	Bridgewater	57319	McCook County	Bridgewater-Emery 30-3	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 729-2541	143	12	11.7	30.8%	134 (93.7%)	1 (0.7%)	4 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.1%)	77.3	39^th of 300 public elementary schools	87.0%		85.8	14^th of 201 public elementary schools	93.0%	25	58.6	56.3	65.2	60.3	82.8	62.5	73.9	75.0	43.5	$15,142	$906	$14,236

Cities Near Bridgewater

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Canistota	8.94 mi	3	61^st
Emery	9.99 mi	3	39^th
Salem	11.13 mi	4	129^th
Marion	12 mi	3	120^th
Freeman	12.75 mi	3	79^th

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.