Enrollment
450
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cass Lake, MN
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Cass Lake-Bena Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270807000330
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 81% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- #4 of 4
- public schools in Cass Lake · Resource Index
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 10.2:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 79.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary has class sizes smaller than 81% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cass Lake-Bena Elementary ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Cass Lake, MN.
School address
District: Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools · Minnesota
NCES ID 270807000330 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.2:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
79.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+86% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cass Lake-Bena Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cass Lake-Bena Elementary
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cass Lake, Minnesota, enrolling 450 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 79.5% of students qualify for free meals, 86% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 450 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 111 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #85, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly American Indian / Alaska Native (94% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 83.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
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 Middle School (312 students) and Cass Lake-Bena Secondary (263 students) alongside Cass Lake-Bena Elementary.
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 Elementary compares
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.2:1 | ▼ 35% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 79.5% | ▲ 86% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 450 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.2:1
Leaner classes than 88% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
450
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
79.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 86% 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
10.2:1
students per teacher
- 35% below state mean
Top 19% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
83.1%
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
$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
Counselors0.0 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
American Indian / Alaska Native 94.4%
White 2.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.8%
Two or More 1.8%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 94.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 10.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 10.8, Cass Lake-Bena Elementary 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 Elementary.
$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 Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cass Lake-Bena Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cass Lake-Bena Secondary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cass Lake-Bena Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 312
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 263
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 94
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
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 (~450 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cass Lake-Bena Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Cass Lake-Bena Elementary 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 Elementary
How many students attend Cass Lake-Bena Elementary?
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary has 450 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cass Lake, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cass Lake-Bena Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cass Lake-Bena Elementary is 10.2:1, which is 35% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 35% 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 Elementary?
79.5% of students at Cass Lake-Bena Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cass Lake-Bena Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cass Lake-Bena Elementary is American Indian / Alaska Native at 94.4% of enrollment, in Cass Lake, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cass Lake-Bena Elementary?
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Cass Lake-Bena Elementary rank among public schools in Cass Lake?
By Resource Investment Index, Cass Lake-Bena Elementary ranks #4 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 Elementary a good school?
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 81% 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 Elementary, Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools also operates Cass Lake-Bena Middle School (312 students), Cass Lake-Bena Secondary (263 students), and Cass Lake-Bena Area Lrng. Cntr. (94 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.