Enrollment
145
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Billings, MT
Blue Creek School
Federal NCES profile for Blue Creek School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 300423000099
👥 S:T ratio 61
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 71
📋 Attendance 28
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Blue Creek School earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median.
- #1 of 30
- schools in Billings · Resource Index
- 57
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.7:1
- students per teacher
- 145
- students enrolled
Blue Creek School has class sizes near the Montana median. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Blue Creek School ranks #1 of 30 schools in Billings, MT.
School address
District: Blue Creek Elem · Montana
NCES ID 300423000099 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.7:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Blue Creek School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Blue Creek School
Blue Creek School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Billings, Montana, enrolling 145 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 145 students, its enrollment sits close to the Montana median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 145 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Blue Creek Elem spends $10,136 per pupil, 47% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Among Billings's public schools, it stands alongside Meadowlark School (691 students): Blue Creek School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.7:1 vs 19.2:1).
Blue Creek Elem operates only this one school, so Blue Creek School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Blue Creek School compares
Blue Creek 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 | 9.7:1 | ▼ 18% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 145 | top 38% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.7:1
Leaner classes than 90% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
145
Bigger than 14% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9.7:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 32% in Montana - lower ratio than 68% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
29.0%
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
$10,136
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 145 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 89.0%
Hispanic or Latino 3.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.8%
Two or More 2.8%
African American 2.1%
Largest group: White at 89.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.5, Blue Creek School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Blue Creek Elem, which includes Blue Creek School.
$10,136
Per student
-47%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-39%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 40.8%
State 48.4%
Federal 10.8%
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.
Similar other schools in Billings
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Meadowlark School
Standard public school
691 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Boulder School
Standard public school
495 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Elder Grove School
Standard public school
465 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
Eagle Cliffs Elementary
Standard public school
443 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Arrowhead School
Standard public school
434 students 18.1:1 students per teacher
Broadwater School
Standard public school
400 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
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 (~145 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Blue Creek School's federal record.
- Compare Blue Creek School against another school. Compare schools
- Blue Creek 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 Blue Creek School
How many students attend Blue Creek School?
Blue Creek School has 145 students enrolled. It is a public school in Billings, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Blue Creek School?
The student-teacher ratio at Blue Creek School is 9.7:1, which is 18% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 38% 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 Blue Creek School?
The largest demographic group at Blue Creek School is White at 89.0% of enrollment, in Billings, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Blue Creek School?
Blue Creek School has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (higher 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 Blue Creek School rank among schools in Billings?
By Resource Investment Index, Blue Creek School ranks #1 of 30 schools in Billings, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Billings on the city page.
Is Blue Creek School a good school?
Blue Creek School earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana 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 Blue Creek Elem?
None reported; Blue Creek Elem operates only Blue Creek School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.