The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in English language arts. The lowest is 44% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lennox Intermediate - 09
Lennox Intermediate - 09 sits in the town of Lennox, South Dakota, part of the Lennox School District 41-4. It is a two-grade school serving fifth and sixth graders, a narrow band that gives the building an intermediate identity between elementary and middle school. The enrollment is small, fitting comfortably within what you would expect for a school covering just two grades in a town of this size. The student body is predominantly white, with very small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, well below what many public schools in the state see, which points to a relatively economically stable community context.
State assessment results from the most recent school year show real strength in English language arts and math. Proficiency in ELA runs high, and math results are similarly strong, with the clear majority of tested students meeting or exceeding the state bar in both subjects. Participation was full, with every student tested. Science results tell a different story. Proficiency there is notably lower, with fewer than half of tested students reaching the proficient level. Because science is assessed at specific grade levels rather than across every grade the school serves, the tested group is smaller, but the result still stands as a soft spot. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly what instruction and support look like in science for fifth and sixth graders.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. The data also does not include average scale scores, which would have offered a fuller picture of where students cluster beyond the proficiency cut line.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. That gap reflects the grade band, not a missing or weak result. Similarly, some common school-level data was absent from what was provided. IEP rates and English learner counts were not reported. Staffing figures, attendance data, discipline records, and course access details were not available. Title I status was not reported either. Without these, the picture of student support and school environment remains incomplete, and I would rather name that plainly than fill it with guesses.
On the housing side, Lennox sits in Lincoln County. Typical home values in the school's zip code run slightly above the South Dakota state benchmark and below the national one, putting the area in an affordable-to-moderate range by national standards. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home sits at a level that, relative to income measures, remains within reach for many working households, though current mortgage rates add pressure. Rent data was not available for this zip code. Lincoln County has been one of the faster-growing areas in the region, and Lennox's position within commuting distance of Sioux Falls shapes both the housing market and the community's character.
We looked for a locale brief describing downtown Lennox and local businesses, but the research returned no usable content, so I have left that out rather than speculate. We also searched for district-level information on recent bond issues, referendums, or strategic changes within Lennox School District 41-4, and that search returned no results. The district brief is therefore silent, and any parent interested in facilities planning or recent investments would need to go directly to the district.
What the available data does convey is a small, focused intermediate school with solid reading and math outcomes, a homogenous student body, and a community where housing costs are moderate by regional standards. The science result is the clearest question mark. For a family considering this school, the academic picture in core subjects is encouraging, the peer environment is intimate, and the gaps in the public data are wide enough that a direct conversation with the school would be worthwhile.
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