Enrollment
52
North Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lignite, ND
Burke Central Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Burke Central Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 380359000080
👥 S:T ratio 58
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 90
📋 Attendance 57
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Burke Central Elementary School earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Dakota median.
- 59
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.4:1
- students per teacher
- 28.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 52
- students enrolled
Burke Central Elementary School has class sizes near the North Dakota median. Computed live against every North Dakota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Burke Central 36 · North Dakota
NCES ID 380359000080 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.4:1
vs 11.8:1 North Dakota avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.8%
vs 28.2% North Dakota avg
+2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Burke Central Elementary School compares with North Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Burke Central Elementary School
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Burke Central Elementary School is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among North Dakota schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Resource indicators are the standout signal
Burke Central Elementary School's economic-need measure is not at a state extreme, while its Resource Investment Index is. The campus outranks most North Dakota schools on the combined reported-resource measure, so the differentiator comes from staffing, counselor access, gifted programming, or attendance rather than from an unusually low-need population alone. The component breakdown identifies which inputs actually produce that placement.
A combined-grade campus has a different support burden
Burke Central Elementary School serves a combined grade span rather than a conventional elementary, middle, or high-school band. That structure can require the same campus to cover transitions, counseling needs, and programs for students at substantially different developmental stages, so a single staffing ratio deserves more caution than it would at a narrower-grade school. Federal totals show the available people and programs, but not how those resources are divided among grade levels.
Burke Central Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Lignite, North Dakota, enrolling 52 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Dakota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 28.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 52 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 39 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #21.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 52 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
17.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Burke Central 36 spends $22,657 per pupil, 23% above the North Dakota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Lignite's public schools, it stands alongside Burke Central High School (43 students): Burke Central Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (10.4:1 vs 7.2:1).
Its district, Burke Central 36, also runs Burke Central High School (43 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 Burke Central Elementary School compares
Burke Central 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 | 10.4:1 | ▼ 12% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.8% | ▲ 2% | 28.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 52 | top 83% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.4:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
52
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
28.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% above 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
10.4:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 39% in North Dakota - lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
17.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$22,657
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 52 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.
Student demographics
White 88.5%
Hispanic or Latino 9.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.9%
Largest group: White at 88.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.7, Burke Central Elementary School is less mixed than the North Dakota school average of 29.7.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Burke Central 36, which includes Burke Central Elementary School.
$22,657
Per student
+23%
vs North Dakota
Avg $18,450
+37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 60.2%
State 29.1%
Federal 10.7%
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 Burke Central Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke Central High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Burke Central Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 43
- Students per teacher
- 7.2:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
Similar other schools in Lignite
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 (~52 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Burke Central Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Burke Central Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Burke Central 36'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 Burke Central Elementary School
How many students attend Burke Central Elementary School?
Burke Central Elementary School has 52 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lignite, ND.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Burke Central Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Burke Central Elementary School is 10.4:1, which is 12% lower than the North Dakota average of 11.8:1 and 34% 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 Burke Central Elementary School?
28.8% of students at Burke Central Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Dakota average of 28.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Burke Central Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Burke Central Elementary School is White at 88.5% of enrollment, in Lignite, ND.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Burke Central Elementary School?
Burke Central 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 Burke Central 36?
Besides Burke Central Elementary School, Burke Central 36 also operates Burke Central High School (43 students). See the Burke Central 36 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.