Enrollment
50
North Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Bowbells, ND
Bowbells Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Bowbells Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 380309000069
👥 S:T ratio 72
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 85
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bowbells Elementary School earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of North Dakota schools.
- 59
- Resource Index · Higher
- 7.1:1
- small classes for North Dakota
- 14.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 50
- students enrolled
Bowbells Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 86% of North Dakota schools. Computed live against every North Dakota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Bowbells 14 · North Dakota
NCES ID 380309000069 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
7.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7.1:1
vs 11.8:1 North Dakota avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.3%
vs 28.2% North Dakota avg
-49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bowbells Elementary School compares with North Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bowbells Elementary School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Bowbells Elementary School sits near the smaller end of the North Dakota enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Lower need and stronger resource signals align
Bowbells Elementary School reports lower free-meal eligibility than most North Dakota schools and an above-typical Resource Investment Index. The two measures move together, a pattern consistent with the resource advantages that often accompany a lower-need intake. That association should not be mistaken for a causal verdict about the school; it is a transparent description of how this campus sits on two independent federal-data dimensions.
Attendance is a relative strength
6.0% of Bowbells Elementary School students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 civil-rights collection. On its face, that is a comparatively low historical rate, though this page does not treat it as a current national benchmark or guarantee current-year performance. Here, attendance is a more distinctive signal than the presence or absence of any single specialist role.
Bowbells Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Bowbells, North Dakota, enrolling 50 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 7.1:1, Bowbells Elementary School is leaner than roughly 86% of North Dakota schools and 40% under the state's 11.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 14.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 50 puts it in the smaller third of North Dakota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 498 scored North Dakota schools.
Against 42 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #19.
Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment) (diversity index 11/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 250 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Bowbells 14 spends $28,534 per pupil, 55% above the North Dakota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Bowbells's public schools, it stands alongside Bowbells High School (42 students): Bowbells Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (7.1:1 vs 8.4:1).
Its district, Bowbells 14, also runs Bowbells High School (42 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 Bowbells Elementary School compares
Bowbells 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 | 7.1:1 | ▼ 40% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.3% | ▼ 49% | 28.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 50 | top 84% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
7.1:1
Leaner classes than 96% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
50
Bigger than 5% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
14.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 49% 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
7.1:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 14% in North Dakota - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$28,534
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Dakota avg of $18,450
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 94.0%
Hispanic or Latino 4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.0%
Largest group: White at 94.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 11.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 11.4, Bowbells Elementary School is less mixed than the North Dakota school average of 29.7.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bowbells 14, which includes Bowbells Elementary School.
$28,534
Per student
+55%
vs North Dakota
Avg $18,450
+72%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.5%
State 43.4%
Federal 8.1%
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 Bowbells Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowbells High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bowbells Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 42
- Students per teacher
- 8.4:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
Similar other schools in Bowbells
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 North Dakota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~50 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bowbells Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Bowbells Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Bowbells 14'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 Bowbells Elementary School
How many students attend Bowbells Elementary School?
Bowbells Elementary School has 50 students enrolled. It is a public school in Bowbells, ND.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bowbells Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bowbells Elementary School is 7.1:1, which is 40% lower than the North Dakota average of 11.8:1 and 55% 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 Bowbells Elementary School?
14.3% of students at Bowbells Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Dakota average of 28.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bowbells Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Bowbells Elementary School is White at 94.0% of enrollment, in Bowbells, ND.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bowbells Elementary School?
Bowbells Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
What other schools are in Bowbells 14?
Besides Bowbells Elementary School, Bowbells 14 also operates Bowbells High School (42 students). See the Bowbells 14 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 July 2026.