Enrollment
20
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Havre, MT
Cottonwood School
Federal NCES profile for Cottonwood School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 301415000439
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cottonwood School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median.
- #4 of 4
- schools in Havre · Resource Index
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 10:1
- students per teacher
- 20
- students enrolled
Cottonwood School has class sizes near the Montana median. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cottonwood School ranks #4 of 4 schools in Havre, MT.
School address
District: Cottonwood Elem · Montana
NCES ID 301415000439 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottonwood School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cottonwood School
Cottonwood School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Havre, Montana, enrolling 20 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 20 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 91% of the 826 Montana schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly White (80% of enrollment) (diversity index 35/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 70.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Cottonwood Elem spends $13,926 per pupil, 28% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 23.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Havre's public schools, it stands alongside Highland Park School (288 students): Cottonwood School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10:1 vs 18:1).
Cottonwood Elem operates only this one school, so Cottonwood School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Cottonwood School compares
Cottonwood School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10:1 | ▼ 15% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 20 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
20
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 35% in Montana - lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
70.0%
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
$13,926
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,282
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
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 80.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 10.0%
African American 5.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 5.0%
Largest group: White at 80.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 34.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 34.5, Cottonwood School is more mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cottonwood Elem, which includes Cottonwood School.
$13,926
Per student
-28%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 41.6%
State 35.2%
Federal 23.2%
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.
Similar other schools in Havre
3 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~20 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cottonwood School's federal record.
- Compare Cottonwood School against another school. Compare schools
- Cottonwood Elem'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 Cottonwood School
How many students attend Cottonwood School?
Cottonwood School has 20 students enrolled. It is a public school in Havre, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood School is 10:1, which is 15% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 36% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cottonwood School?
The largest demographic group at Cottonwood School is White at 80.0% of enrollment, in Havre, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottonwood School?
Cottonwood School 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 Cottonwood School rank among schools in Havre?
By Resource Investment Index, Cottonwood School ranks #4 of 4 schools in Havre, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Havre on the city page.
Is Cottonwood School a good school?
Cottonwood School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median. 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 Cottonwood Elem?
None reported; Cottonwood Elem operates only Cottonwood School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.