Enrollment
348
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Barnum, MN
Barnum Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Barnum Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270369000171
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 5
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Barnum Elementary earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 12.9:1
- students per teacher
- 27.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 348
- students enrolled
Barnum Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Barnum Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 270369000171 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.9%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Barnum Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Barnum Elementary
Barnum Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Barnum, Minnesota, enrolling 348 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 27.9% of students eligible for free meals.
With 348 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 415 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #341, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 348 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district, Barnum Public School District, also runs Barnum Secondary (312 students).
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 Barnum Elementary compares
Barnum 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 | 12.9:1 | ▼ 18% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.9% | ▼ 35% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 348 | top 41% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
348
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
27.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 35% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 36% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 64% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
37.9%
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
$12,494
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 348 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 87.6%
Two or More 9.5%
Hispanic or Latino 1.4%
African American 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 87.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.3, Barnum Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Barnum Public School District, which includes Barnum Elementary.
$12,494
Per student
-18%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 15.2%
State 71.1%
Federal 13.7%
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 Barnum Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnum Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Barnum Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 312
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
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 (~348 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Barnum Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Barnum Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Barnum Public School District'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 Barnum Elementary
How many students attend Barnum Elementary?
Barnum Elementary has 348 students enrolled. It is a public school in Barnum, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Barnum Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Barnum Elementary is 12.9:1, which is 18% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 18% 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 Barnum Elementary?
27.9% of students at Barnum Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Barnum Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Barnum Elementary is White at 87.6% of enrollment, in Barnum, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Barnum Elementary?
Barnum Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Barnum Elementary a good school?
Barnum Elementary earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. 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 Barnum Public School District?
Besides Barnum Elementary, Barnum Public School District also operates Barnum Secondary (312 students). See the Barnum Public School District 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.