Enrollment
255
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 270405002169
Belle Plaine Junior High — Belle Plaine, MN
Federal NCES profile for Belle Plaine Junior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 26/100.
👥 Class size 11
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 62
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
The verdict
Belle Plaine Junior High earns an F Resource Investment Index (26/100), with class sizes larger than 90% of Minnesota schools.
- F
- Resource Index · 26/100
- 22.2:1
- large classes for Minnesota
- 18.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 255
- students enrolled
School address
District: Belle Plaine Public School District · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.2:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
+40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.0%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Belle Plaine Junior High compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Belle Plaine Junior High reports 255 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 11.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 40% above the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 41% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% below the Minnesota average and 65% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 2550 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Belle Plaine Public School District spends $11,603 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $15,270 and below the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 26.8% from local sources (property taxes), 63.8% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Belle Plaine Junior High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.2:1 | ▲ 40% | 15.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.0% | ▼ 58% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 255 | top 49% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
22 smaller classes than 10% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
255 larger than 26% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
18.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% 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
22.2:1
students per teacher
— 40% above state mean
Top 90% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
15.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$11,603
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.1 FTE
Per 2550 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 255 Top 49% in Minnesota — larger than 51% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 11.0
Students per teacher 22.2:1 +40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.0% -58% vs state
NCES ID 270405002169
Student demographics
White 84.7%
Hispanic or Latino 7.1%
Two or More 4.7%
Asian 1.6%
African American 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Largest group: White at 84.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.1
Students per counselor 2550:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.3%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Belle Plaine Public School District, which includes Belle Plaine Junior High.
$11,603
Per student
-24%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.8%
State 63.8%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 475
- Students per teacher
- 27.8:1
- Enrollment
- 432
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 308
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Enrollment
- 42
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 10
- Students per teacher
- —
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Belle Plaine Junior High
How many students attend Belle Plaine Junior High?
Belle Plaine Junior High has 255 students enrolled. It is a middle school in BELLE PLAINE, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Belle Plaine Junior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Belle Plaine Junior High is 22.2:1, which is 40% higher than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 41% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Belle Plaine Junior High?
18.0% of students at Belle Plaine Junior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Belle Plaine Junior High?
The largest demographic group at Belle Plaine Junior High is White at 84.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in BELLE PLAINE, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Belle Plaine Junior High?
Belle Plaine Junior High has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.
Is Belle Plaine Junior High a good school?
Belle Plaine Junior High earns an F Resource Investment Index (26/100), with class sizes larger than 90% of Minnesota schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.