The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 40% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Camelot Intermediate - 06
Camelot Intermediate - 06 sits in the Brookings School District in the city of Brookings, a community shaped by South Dakota State University and a cluster of manufacturers along the Interstate 29 corridor in eastern South Dakota. The school serves only grades four and five, which is a narrow band that explains a few things about the data: there is no graduation rate because the school does not include high school grades, and the tested population in science reflects only the grade five cohort while math and English language arts results cover both grades.
The community itself is a mix of college town, manufacturing center, and residential neighborhood. Publicly reported sources describe Brookings as home to SDSU, the state's largest university, alongside employers like Daktronics, 3M, Larson Manufacturing, and a Bel Brands Babybel cheese plant. Downtown runs along Main Avenue, and the tourism site calls it a "spiffy downtown." The city has grown steadily over recent census cycles, and the school district has invested in renovations at its elementary buildings, Hillcrest and Medary. The district operates six public schools plus an alternative high school, with Camelot serving as the intermediate step between elementary and middle school. A Catholic school covering pre-kindergarten through grade five also operates in town, hosted at St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
Housing in the Brookings zip code is relatively affordable. Typical home values sit below the state benchmark and well below the national one, and rents are modest. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home runs higher than typical rent by a meaningful margin, which may matter to families deciding between buying and renting. Home values have been climbing at a healthy year-over-year pace, so the market is moving but remains within reach compared with many college towns of similar character.
At Camelot, the student body is predominantly white, with smaller Hispanic, multiracial, Black, Asian, and Native American populations. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which is lower than what many public schools see and likely reflects Brookings' stable employment base anchored by the university and manufacturers. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here. The school is not a charter or magnet school.
On state assessments, Camelot posts mixed results. In English language arts, roughly half of tested students reached proficiency, which is the school's strongest subject. Math proficiency landed lower, with about two-fifths of students meeting the bar. Science, tested only at grade five, came in close to the math figure. Participation was essentially universal across all three subjects. No trend data was available to show whether these results are improving, declining, or holding steady, and no average scale scores were reported. A parent comparing these results to state proficiency patterns would see a school that is doing reasonably well in reading and has room to grow in math, particularly given the school's relatively low poverty rate. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, especially what supports exist for students who are approaching but not yet reaching proficiency in math.
The school's grade configuration means families should expect a short stay. Students arrive after third grade at one of the district's elementary buildings and move on to middle school after fifth grade. This is a transition school by design, and the academic results reflect a two-year snapshot rather than a long arc. No data on course offerings, staffing ratios, attendance, or discipline was available, so those dimensions of the school environment cannot be described here. The district brief did not surface any recent parent-relevant changes, so there is little to report on that front.
For a family moving to Brookings, Camelot represents a focused two-year academic step in a district that has recently invested in its elementary facilities, situated in a college town with a stable employer base and housing costs that remain approachable for the region. The academic picture is solid in reading and middling in math, set against a community where the university and manufacturing sector provide a relatively steady economic floor.
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