Enrollment
17
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sand Coulee, MT
Big Stone School
Federal NCES profile for Big Stone School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 302513000922
👥 S:T ratio 66
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Big Stone School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of Montana schools.
- #4 of 4
- public schools in Sand Coulee · Resource Index
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8.5:1
- small classes for Montana
- 17
- students enrolled
Big Stone School has class sizes smaller than 75% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Big Stone School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Sand Coulee, MT.
School address
District: Centerville Elem · Montana
NCES ID 302513000922 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.5:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Big Stone School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Big Stone School
Big Stone School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sand Coulee, Montana, enrolling 17 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 8.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 17 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment) (diversity index 0/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 340 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
The surrounding Centerville Elem spends $12,232 per pupil, 37% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 23.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Sand Coulee's public schools, it stands alongside Centerville School (120 students): Big Stone School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (8.5:1 vs 13.3:1).
Centerville Elem also operates Centerville School (120 students) and Centerville 6-8 (65 students) alongside Big Stone 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 Big Stone School compares
Big Stone School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.5:1 | ▼ 28% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 17 | top 82% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.5:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
17
Bigger than 2% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
8.5:1
students per teacher
- 28% below state mean
Top 25% in Montana - lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$12,232
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,282
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.1 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 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Big Stone School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Centerville Elem, which includes Big Stone School.
$12,232
Per student
-37%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 31.0%
State 45.5%
Federal 23.5%
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 Big Stone School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centerville School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Centerville 6-8 | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Grass Land Colony School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hill Top Colony School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Big Stone School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 120
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 65
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 21
- Students per teacher
- 10.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 19
- Students per teacher
- 9.5:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar other schools in Sand Coulee
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~17 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Big Stone School's federal record.
- Compare Big Stone School against another school. Compare schools
- Centerville Elem'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 Big Stone School
How many students attend Big Stone School?
Big Stone School has 17 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sand Coulee, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Stone School?
The student-teacher ratio at Big Stone School is 8.5:1, which is 28% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 46% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Stone School?
The largest demographic group at Big Stone School is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Sand Coulee, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Stone School?
Big Stone School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Big Stone School rank among public schools in Sand Coulee?
By Resource Investment Index, Big Stone School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Sand Coulee, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Sand Coulee on the city page.
Is Big Stone School a good school?
Big Stone School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of Montana 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 Centerville Elem?
Besides Big Stone School, Centerville Elem also operates Centerville School (120 students), Centerville 6-8 (65 students), and Grass Land Colony School (21 students). See the Centerville Elem 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.