South Dakota boasts one of the highest graduation rates in the country. Public elementary and secondary schools in Sioux Falls are in Sioux Falls School District 49-5, which enrolls the highest number of students in the state. A five-member, nonpartisan school board appoints a superintendent. Teachers in the district have an average of 15.6 years of experience, and 45.5 percent hold advanced degrees.
The following is a summary of data regarding Sioux Falls public schools as of the 2003–2004 school year.
Total enrollment: 20,337
Number of facilities
elementary schools: 23
middle schools: 5
senior high schools: 4
other: 4
Student/teacher ratio: 16:1
Teacher salaries
average: $37,728
Funding per pupil: $5,071
Fifteen parochial and private elementary and secondary schools provide alternative educational curricula to about 3,700 students. Special schools in the city include a vocational school for the handicapped, a school and hospital for disabled children, and a school for the deaf.
Public Schools Information: Sioux Falls School District, 201 E. 38th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57105; telephone (605)367-7900
Sioux Falls is home to Augustana College, the largest private college in the state. Affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church and enrolling 1,800 students each year, the college awards Bachelor of Arts degrees in more than 40 areas of study and Masters of Arts in nursing and secondary/special education. The University of Sioux Falls, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, enrolls nearly 1,500 students pursuing degrees in such areas as business administration, elementary education, exercise science, biology, and theology/philosophy. USDSU Sioux Falls is a partnership of three universities—the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, and Dakota State University. USDSU Sioux Falls caters to adult students by offering evening and once-per-week classes; each year more than 1,900 students pursue degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels.
In 2001 the Southeast Technical Institute, which serves 3,500 full- and part-time students, opened the newest building on its 168-acre campus. The Sioux Falls campus of Colorado Technical University offers associate, bachelors, and masters degrees in such areas as technology, business, criminal justice, and health sciences. Sioux Falls serves as the primary clinical campus of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, as well as site for the nurse anesthesia graduate program of Mount Marty College. Kilian Community College, located in downtown Sioux Falls, offers studies in such areas as accounting, business management, computers, chemical dependency, medical office professional, and word processing. Other institutions of higher learning include National American University, North American Baptist Seminary, and Sioux Valley Hospital's School of Medical and Radiologic Technology.
The Siouxland Libraries System maintains holdings of about 387,000 items including periodical titles, tapes, videos, and art prints. It consists of the main library, two city branches, eight county branches, a bookmobile, and an outreach service van. The library, a depository for federal and state documents, houses special collections in South Dakota history and oral history. A new, 14,900-square-foot Oak View city branch will open its doors in the spring of 2005.
The Mikkelsen Library and Learning Resources Center at Augustana College holds more than 200,000 volumes; the Center for Western Studies, a special collection within the library system, brings together 30,000 volumes pertaining to the Upper Great Plains and oral history.
A dozen or so other libraries and research centers are operated by colleges, hospitals, Siouxland Heritage Museums, and such government agencies as the Sioux Falls Police Department, the South Dakota State Penitentiary, and the United States Geological Survey.
Public Library Information: Siouxland Libraries, 201 N. Main Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104-6002; telephone (605)367-8720; fax (605)367-4312