Enrollment
230
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Appleton, MN
Appleton Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Appleton Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270012500129
👥 S:T ratio 46
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Appleton Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.5:1
- students per teacher
- 65.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 230
- students enrolled
Appleton Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools · Minnesota
NCES ID 270012500129 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Appleton Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Appleton Elementary
Appleton Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Appleton, Minnesota, enrolling 230 students.
At 13.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Minnesota median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 65.5% of students eligible for free meals.
With 230 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 110 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #54.
Its student body is led by White (43%) and Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (42%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 63/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools also operates Lac Qui Parle Valley Secondary (380 students) and Madison-Marietta-Nassau Elementary (151 students) alongside Appleton Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Appleton Elementary compares
Appleton Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.5:1 | ▼ 15% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.5% | ▲ 53% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 230 | top 54% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.5:1
Leaner classes than 62% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
230
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
65.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 53% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.5:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 41% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
22.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,428
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 42.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 42.2%
Hispanic or Latino 10.4%
Two or More 3.9%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 42.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 62.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 62.8, Appleton Elementary is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools, which includes Appleton Elementary.
$14,428
Per student
-6%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.9%
State 65.7%
Federal 9.4%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Appleton Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lac Qui Parle Valley Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Madison-Marietta-Nassau Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lac Qui Parle Valley Middle School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Appleton Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 380
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 151
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 129
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~230 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Appleton Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Appleton Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Appleton Elementary
How many students attend Appleton Elementary?
Appleton Elementary has 230 students enrolled. It is a public school in Appleton, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Appleton Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Appleton Elementary is 13.5:1, which is 15% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 14% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Appleton Elementary?
65.5% of students at Appleton Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Appleton Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Appleton Elementary is White at 42.6% of enrollment, in Appleton, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Appleton Elementary?
Appleton Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Appleton Elementary a good school?
Appleton Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools?
Besides Appleton Elementary, Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools also operates Lac Qui Parle Valley Secondary (380 students), Madison-Marietta-Nassau Elementary (151 students), and Lac Qui Parle Valley Middle School (129 students). See the Lac Qui Parle Valley Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.