Enrollment
791
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Detroit Lakes, MN
Detroit Lakes Senior High
Federal NCES profile for Detroit Lakes Senior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 271023000442
👥 S:T ratio 34
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Detroit Lakes Senior High earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- #3 of 3
- high schools in Detroit Lakes · Resource Index
- 27
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16.5:1
- students per teacher
- 29.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Detroit Lakes Senior High has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Detroit Lakes Senior High ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Detroit Lakes, MN.
School address
District: Detroit Lakes Public School Dist. · Minnesota
NCES ID 271023000442 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
48.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.6%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Detroit Lakes Senior High compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Detroit Lakes Senior High
Detroit Lakes Senior High is a large high school in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, enrolling 791 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.5:1 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 29.6% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Minnesota, bigger than 90% of state schools at 791 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 343 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #252, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and American Indian / Alaska Native (17%) (diversity index 40/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 5 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 264 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 41.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Detroit Lakes Public School Dist. also operates Detroit Lakes Middle (617 students) and Rossman Elementary (565 students) alongside Detroit Lakes Senior High.
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 Detroit Lakes Senior High compares
Detroit Lakes Senior High on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 4% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.6% | ▼ 31% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 791 | top 10% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.5:1
Leaner classes than 34% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
791
Bigger than 85% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
29.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 31% 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
16.5:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 66% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 34% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
41.8%
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
$14,230
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 264 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. Includes 1 expulsion.
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 75.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 16.6%
Two or More 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.5%
African American 0.6%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 75.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 39.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 39.8, Detroit Lakes Senior High is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
AP courses offered 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Detroit Lakes Public School Dist., which includes Detroit Lakes Senior High.
$14,230
Per student
-7%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.0%
State 65.1%
Federal 11.0%
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 Detroit Lakes Senior High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lakes Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rossman Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Roosevelt Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lincoln Early Childhood Ed. Center | Smaller | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Detroit Lakes Area Learning Center | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Detroit Lakes Senior High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 617
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 565
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 562
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 64
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 57
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
Similar high 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 (~791 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Detroit Lakes Senior High's federal record.
- Compare Detroit Lakes Senior High against another school. Compare schools
- Detroit Lakes Public School Dist.'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 Detroit Lakes Senior High
How many students attend Detroit Lakes Senior High?
Detroit Lakes Senior High has 791 students enrolled. It is a high school in Detroit Lakes, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Detroit Lakes Senior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Detroit Lakes Senior High is 16.5:1, which is 4% higher than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Detroit Lakes Senior High?
29.6% of students at Detroit Lakes Senior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Detroit Lakes Senior High?
The largest demographic group at Detroit Lakes Senior High is White at 75.6% of enrollment, in Detroit Lakes, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Detroit Lakes Senior High?
Detroit Lakes Senior High has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Detroit Lakes Senior High rank among high schools in Detroit Lakes?
By Resource Investment Index, Detroit Lakes Senior High ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Detroit Lakes, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Detroit Lakes on the city page.
Is Detroit Lakes Senior High a good school?
Detroit Lakes Senior High earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota 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 Detroit Lakes Public School Dist.?
Besides Detroit Lakes Senior High, Detroit Lakes Public School Dist. also operates Detroit Lakes Middle (617 students), Rossman Elementary (565 students), and Roosevelt Elementary (562 students). See the Detroit Lakes Public School Dist. 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.