Holmesville Elementary School, Holmesville OH

Original Research by School Decision on Holmesville Elementary School

Holmesville Elementary serves grades kindergarten through sixth in a small rural village in Holmes County, Ohio, nestled within what is now Waynedale Local Schools. The school enrolls roughly a hundred students, with representation across all grade levels and a student body that is overwhelmingly white, drawn from the surrounding Amish Country farmland and suburban-rural setting.

The village of Holmesville itself sits along the Killbuck Creek and the Holmes County Trail, a paved rail-trail that runs through the community with a dedicated lane for horse-drawn buggies—a visible reminder that the school serves families from both English and Amish backgrounds. Population is flat; families here tend to own their homes in an older housing stock. About half the students at Holmesville Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating moderate economic need within the catchment.

On state testing, Holmesville Elementary's results show uneven performance across grade levels and subjects. In math, fourth graders performed very strongly, while fifth graders sat lower. English language arts proficiency was highest in fourth grade and sixth grade, with a dip in fifth grade. Fifth-grade science results were solid. The school participates fully in state testing—participation rates are at or near perfect—and the most recent data available is from the 2023-24 school year. When measured against the two other districts in Holmes County, Holmesville Elementary's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint of county schools, a sign of competitive standing in a small rural peer group, though parents may want to look into the fifth-grade performance dip with the school directly.

The district itself underwent a major structural change in 2024. What was Southeast Local Schools rebranded to Waynedale Local Schools and completed a consolidation, moving all grade levels from older buildings into a new single campus in nearby Apple Creek on Dover Road. That new building replaced structures dating back to the 1890s that lacked air conditioning; it houses modern classroom technology and a larger gymnasium. Notably, the consolidation was funded through tax revenue generated by the Rover Pipeline running through Wayne County, which means families did not face a new local property tax levy to finance the upgrade—a lasting advantage for the budget-conscious. The district is now in design phases for an auditorium addition to the campus, signaling continued investment in the consolidated model.

Holmesville Elementary is a regular public school with no charter or magnet status. State testing data from special populations such as English learner counts or special education enrollment was not available. Program information beyond standard instruction was not located in the sources provided. For a parent or resident evaluating this school, the key takeaways are a modest, tight-knit enrollment in a rural setting with mixed test results that warrant direct conversation with the school about instructional priorities, coupled with the substantial advantage of belonging to a freshly consolidated district that invested in modern facilities without burdening local taxpayers.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 4100%

School 100% · district not reported

▲ 35 pts above state median

Grade 554%

School 54% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 673%

School 73% · district not reported

▲ 51 pts above state median

Grade 7100%

School 100% · district not reported

▲ 82 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 369%

School 69% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 489%

School 89% · district not reported

▲ 31 pts above state median

Grade 557%

School 57% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 673%

School 73% · district not reported

▲ 32 pts above state median

Science

Grade 571%

School 71% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 495%

School 95% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 675%

School 75% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median

This schoolSoutheast Local, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income63%Higher-income75%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income67%Higher-income100%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income63%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income60%Higher-income83%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income63%Higher-income63%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income100%Higher-income100%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income63%23 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income80%13 pp gap