NCES CCD 2024-25 13 schools MN

Best-Resourced Schools in Columbia Heights, MN

Compiled from official source data by .

13 public K-12 schools in Columbia Heights from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
13
Schools
4,068
Students
34.1/100
Avg Resource Index
14.8:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Columbia Heights has more public-school enrollment than 45% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Columbia Heights's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

6 of Columbia Heights's 13 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

Governance mix is central to a fair comparison

4 of 13 listed Columbia Heights campuses are reported as charters, so district-run and charter records occupy substantial shares of the same city view. They may follow different governance, enrollment, and program structures even when their mailing city matches. The 38-point gap between Early Childhood and Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle should be read within that context, not as a single-system league table. Check charter status and district affiliation before comparing two nearby schools, and verify current admissions rules with the operator.

City enrollment
Top 55%
School count
Top 28%
Resource Index average
22nd percentile
Teacher staffing
57th percentile

Columbia Heights Senior High accounts for 28.0% of all Columbia Heights public-school enrollment

That dominant concentration means Columbia Heights-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Columbia Heights school enrollment varies 190× across entities

Columbia Heights school enrollment ranges from 6 students (lowest) to 1,141 students (highest), a spread of 1,135 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Columbia Heights reports 70.5% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Columbia Heights student-teacher ratio is 14.8:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Columbia Heights is typically wider than the Columbia Heights-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

4 of Columbia Heights's 13 listed schools are charters

31% of the city's listed public-school campuses are reported as charter schools in NCES CCD. Charter status identifies a different governance arrangement; it does not establish admissions availability, academic quality, or the share of city students enrolled in those campuses. Open each school record to compare enrollment and staffing directly.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

# School Score
1. Early Childhood 59
2. Columbia Academy Anchor Program 41
3. Columbia Heights Transition Program 39
4. Highland Elementary 38
5. Valley View Elementary 37
6. Columbia Academy 31
7. Columbia Heights Senior High 30
8. Prodeo Columbia Heights Primary 30
9. Virtual Heights Secondary 30
10. Anchor 29
11. Prodeo Columbia Heights Elementary 24
12. Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle 21
13. Bultum Academy -

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Columbia Heights

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Virtual Heights Secondary 68.7/100
  2. 2 Highland Elementary 65.7/100
  3. 3 Early Childhood 64.5/100
  4. 4 Columbia Heights Senior High 63.5/100
  5. 5 Columbia Academy 62.1/100

What do families ask about schools in Columbia Heights?

Which Columbia Heights school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Early Childhood has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Columbia Heights schools in this federal-data comparison at 59/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Columbia Heights, MN? ▼

Columbia Heights has 13 public schools with a total enrollment of 4,068 students. 4 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.8:1.

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Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Minnesota →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.