Watertown School District 14-4

Summary:

The Watertown School District 14-4 in South Dakota consists of 9 schools, including 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. The district as a whole is ranked 99 out of 147 in the state and is rated 2 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Within the district, a few schools stand out as high-performers. Watertown Middle School - 02 consistently ranks among the top 30-57 middle schools in the state, earning 4 out of 5 stars from SchoolDigger. It has strong test scores, with over 60% proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Similarly, Lincoln Elementary - 05 and Jefferson Elementary - 09 are high-performing elementary schools, ranked in the top 9-157 and 31-130 in the state respectively, and earning 5 and 4 out of 5 stars.

However, the district as a whole appears to be underperforming compared to state averages, with most schools scoring below the state proficiency levels in English Language Arts and Mathematics. There is a wide range in performance and resources across the schools, with the highest-performing schools generally serving lower-poverty student populations. The district may want to examine the practices and strategies of the top-performing schools to see if they can be replicated at other schools to raise overall district achievement.

District Detail

200 NE 9th St
Watertown, SD 57201

(605) 882-6312

SchoolDigger Rank:
99^th of 147 South Dakota districts

See the 2025 South Dakota District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 3,606

Primary Schools: 5
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 1
Alternative Schools: 0

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 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 12th 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
McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06	Public	PK-K	5 12th St SW	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 882-6350	296	22	13.7	38.2%	229 (77.4%)	2 (0.7%)	32 (10.8%)	5 (1.7%)	10 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.1%)								(n/a)
Mellette Elementary - 07	Public	1-4	619 2nd St NW	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 882-6385	267	20	13.6	47.6%	192 (71.9%)	3 (1.1%)	20 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (13.1%)	45.1	183^rd of 300 public elementary schools	39.0%		39.4	131^st of 201 public elementary schools	34.8%	52	40.9	32.5							36.4	51.5	45.5							48.3					$11,594	$1,010	$10,584
Watertown High School - 01	Public	9-12	200 NE 9th St	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6316	1,222	73	16.8	30.1%	997 (81.6%)	5 (0.4%)	99 (8.1%)	8 (0.7%)	44 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (5.6%)	56.5	81^st of 166 public high schools	51.2%		50.2	75^th of 141 public high schools	46.8%	6							66.8	0.0	66.3							29.5	0.0	29.3			49.8	49.5	$10,121	$410	$9,711
Watertown Middle School - 02	Public	7-8	1700 11th St NE	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6370	575	39	14.8	35.0%	473 (82.3%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (7.1%)	2 (0.3%)	19 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.6%)	69	57^th of 246 public middle schools	76.8%		69.8	30^th of 147 public middle schools	79.6%	27					62.6	62.7			62.6					53.3	48.6			50.9		39.5			$10,878	$410	$10,468
Lincoln Elementary - 05	Public	1-4	1100 13th St NE	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6340	361	24	14.8	37.1%	272 (75.3%)	1 (0.3%)	50 (13.9%)	5 (1.4%)	13 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.5%)	53	157^th of 300 public elementary schools	47.7%		84.2	19^th of 201 public elementary schools	90.5%	138	44.0	41.5							42.7	58.2	47.9							53.0					$11,908	$962	$10,946
Jefferson Elementary - 09	Public	1-4	1701 N Maple St	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6390	333	23	14.2	32.7%	278 (83.5%)	1 (0.3%)	14 (4.2%)	2 (0.6%)	19 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.7%)	59	130^th of 300 public elementary schools	56.7%		77.7	31^st of 201 public elementary schools	84.6%	99	49.4	48.7							49.1	49.4	62.2							55.3					$11,854	$908	$10,947
Watertown Intermediate School - 13	Public	5-6	601 11th St NE	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6355	532	37	14.3	38.5%	423 (79.5%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (8.6%)	4 (0.8%)	18 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.5%)								(n/a)			61.6	55.6					58.5			47.2	48.1					47.7	50.4				$10,958	$410	$10,548
Sunrise Colony - 15	Public	K-8	45425 152nd St	Summit	57266	Grant County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(605) 882-6340	20	2	10.0		20 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10.3	277^th of 300 public elementary schools	7.7%					(n/a)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0		50.0			10.0	0.0	33.3	0.0	0.0		0.0			10.0	0.0	0.0		0.0

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Northeast Technical High School	2.06 mi	1
Waverly School District 14-5	10.54 mi	3	129^th
Castlewood School District 28-1	13.3 mi	4	105^th
Florence School District 14-1	14.19 mi	3	121^st
Henry School District 14-2	16.03 mi	3	136^th

See the top SD South Dakota districts

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.