Enrollment
297
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Iron, MN
Cherry Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Cherry Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270000801513
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 20
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cherry Elementary earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Minnesota schools.
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.9:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 34.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 297
- students enrolled
Cherry Elementary has class sizes smaller than 72% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: St. Louis County School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 270000801513 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.9:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cherry Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cherry Elementary
Cherry Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Iron, Minnesota, enrolling 297 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 34.5% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 297 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 361 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #240.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
St. Louis County School District also operates South Ridge Elementary (303 students) and Cherry Secondary (273 students) alongside Cherry 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 Cherry Elementary compares
Cherry 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 | 11.9:1 | ▼ 25% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.5% | ▼ 19% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 297 | top 47% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.9:1
Leaner classes than 76% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
297
Bigger than 32% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
34.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 19% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.9:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 28% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
32.0%
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
$17,445
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting 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
White 88.6%
Two or More 8.1%
Hispanic or Latino 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
Largest group: White at 88.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.8, Cherry Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Louis County School District, which includes Cherry Elementary.
$17,445
Per student
+14%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.9%
State 58.7%
Federal 11.4%
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 Cherry Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Ridge Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cherry Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Ridge Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Woods Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| North Woods Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cherry Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 303
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 273
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 258
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 245
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 234
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
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 (~297 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cherry Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Cherry Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- St. Louis County School District'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 Cherry Elementary
How many students attend Cherry Elementary?
Cherry Elementary has 297 students enrolled. It is a public school in Iron, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cherry Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cherry Elementary is 11.9:1, which is 25% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 24% 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 Cherry Elementary?
34.5% of students at Cherry Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cherry Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cherry Elementary is White at 88.6% of enrollment, in Iron, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cherry Elementary?
Cherry Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical 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).
Is Cherry Elementary a good school?
Cherry Elementary earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of 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 St. Louis County School District?
Besides Cherry Elementary, St. Louis County School District also operates South Ridge Elementary (303 students), Cherry Secondary (273 students), and South Ridge Secondary (258 students). See the St. Louis County School District 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.