Other / mixed grade configuration · Grand Forks, ND

Ben Franklin Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Ben Franklin Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 380813000252
0/100100/10043/100
👥 S:T ratio
49
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
27
📋 Attendance
68
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Ben Franklin Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Dakota median.

#6 of 10
schools in Grand Forks · Resource Index
43
Resource Index · Typical
12.7:1
students per teacher
24.1%
free-lunch eligible

Ben Franklin Elementary School has class sizes near the North Dakota median. Computed live against every North Dakota school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Ben Franklin Elementary School ranks #6 of 10 schools in Grand Forks, ND.

School address

Enrollment

367

North Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

29.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.7:1

vs 11.8:1 North Dakota avg

+8% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

24.1%

vs 28.2% North Dakota avg

-15% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Ben Franklin Elementary School compares with North Dakota and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Ben Franklin Elementary School

Ben Franklin Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Grand Forks, North Dakota, enrolling 367 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.7:1 puts it in the larger third of North Dakota schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 24.1% lands close to the North Dakota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 367 puts it in the larger third of North Dakota schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 498 scored North Dakota schools.

Against 86 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #49.

Its student body is led by White (70%) and Hispanic or Latino (10%) (diversity index 49/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 367 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

12.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

The surrounding Grand Forks 1 spends $14,844 per pupil, 20% below the North Dakota average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 19.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Grand Forks's public schools, it stands alongside Discovery Elementary School (567 students): Ben Franklin Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.7:1 vs 13.2:1).

Grand Forks 1 also operates Red River High School (1,190 students) and Central High School (1,115 students) alongside Ben Franklin Elementary School.

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 Ben Franklin Elementary School compares

Ben Franklin Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against North Dakota and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs North Dakota North Dakota avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.7:1 ▲ 8% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 24.1% ▼ 15% 28.2% 51.7%
Enrollment 367 top 19% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.7:1
Leaner classes than 69% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
367
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
24.1%
free-lunch eligible - 15% below the North Dakota average of 28.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.7:1
students per teacher - 8% above state mean
Top 64% in North Dakota - lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$14,844
per pupil, district-wide - below North Dakota avg of $18,450
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 367 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 70.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
Two or More 9.5%
African American 4.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 4.4%
Asian 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: White at 70.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 48.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 48.7, Ben Franklin Elementary School is more mixed than the North Dakota school average of 29.7.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Grand Forks 1, which includes Ben Franklin Elementary School.

$14,844
Per student
-20%
vs North Dakota
Avg $18,450
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.3%
State 53.5%
Federal 19.2%

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 Ben Franklin Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Red River High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Central High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Schroeder Middle School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Discovery Elementary School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
South Middle School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Ben Franklin Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Grand Forks 1 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Grand Forks

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Dakota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Ben Franklin Elementary School's federal record.

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 Ben Franklin Elementary School

How many students attend Ben Franklin Elementary School?

Ben Franklin Elementary School has 367 students enrolled. It is a public school in Grand Forks, ND.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Ben Franklin Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Ben Franklin Elementary School is 12.7:1, which is 8% higher than the North Dakota average of 11.8:1 and 19% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ben Franklin Elementary School?

24.1% of students at Ben Franklin Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Dakota average of 28.2%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ben Franklin Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Ben Franklin Elementary School is White at 70.0% of enrollment, in Grand Forks, ND.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Ben Franklin Elementary School?

Ben Franklin Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical 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).

How does Ben Franklin Elementary School rank among schools in Grand Forks?

By Resource Investment Index, Ben Franklin Elementary School ranks #6 of 10 schools in Grand Forks, ND. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Grand Forks on the city page.

Is Ben Franklin Elementary School a good school?

Ben Franklin Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Dakota 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 Grand Forks 1?

Besides Ben Franklin Elementary School, Grand Forks 1 also operates Red River High School (1,190 students), Central High School (1,115 students), and Schroeder Middle School (569 students). See the Grand Forks 1 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.