Enrollment
94
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cass Lake, MN
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.
Federal NCES profile for Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270807002234
👥 S:T ratio 53
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 81
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- #1 of 4
- public schools in Cass Lake · Resource Index
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.8:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 81.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. has class sizes smaller than 73% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Cass Lake, MN.
School address
District: Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools · Minnesota
NCES ID 270807002234 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.8:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
81.8%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+91% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cass Lake, Minnesota, enrolling 94 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 81.8% of students qualify for free meals, 91% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 94 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 69 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #13.
Its student body is predominantly American Indian / Alaska Native (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 94 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
The surrounding Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools spends $22,334 per pupil, 46% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 34.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools also operates Cass Lake-Bena Elementary (450 students) and Cass Lake-Bena Middle School (312 students) alongside Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr..
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 Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. compares
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.8:1 | ▼ 25% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 81.8% | ▲ 91% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 94 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.8:1
Leaner classes than 77% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
94
Bigger than 9% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
81.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 91% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.8:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 27% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$22,334
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 94 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.0 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
American Indian / Alaska Native 95.7%
White 4.3%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 95.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.2, Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools, which includes Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr..
$22,334
Per student
+46%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 13.3%
State 52.2%
Federal 34.6%
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 Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cass Lake-Bena Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Cass Lake-Bena Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cass Lake-Bena Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 450
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 312
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 263
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~94 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.'s federal record.
- Compare Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. against another school. Compare schools
- Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools'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 Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.
How many students attend Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.?
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. has 94 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Cass Lake, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.?
The student-teacher ratio at Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. is 11.8:1, which is 25% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 25% 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 Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.?
81.8% of students at Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.?
The largest demographic group at Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. is American Indian / Alaska Native at 95.7% of enrollment, in Cass Lake, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr.?
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher 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 Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. rank among public schools in Cass Lake?
By Resource Investment Index, Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Cass Lake, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Cass Lake on the city page.
Is Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. a good school?
Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota 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 Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools?
Besides Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr., Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools also operates Cass Lake-Bena Elementary (450 students), Cass Lake-Bena Middle School (312 students), and Cass Lake-Bena Secondary (263 students). See the Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools 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.