Enrollment
454
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 273885001674
Franklin Middle — Thief River Falls, MN
Federal NCES profile for Franklin Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Thief River Falls School District · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.6:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.8%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Franklin Middle compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Franklin Middle reports 454 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 2% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the Minnesota average and 46% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 385 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 39.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Thief River Falls School District spends $15,894 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.9% from local sources (property taxes), 63.2% from the state, and 12.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Franklin Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.6:1 | ▼ 2% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.8% | ▼ 35% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 454 | top 70% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
27.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% 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
15.6:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 60% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
39.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,894
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $21,113
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.2 FTE
Per 385 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 454 Top 70% in Minnesota — larger than 30% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 15.6:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.8% -35% vs state
NCES ID 273885001674
Student demographics
White 78.6%
Hispanic or Latino 10.6%
Two or More 6.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.7%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 78.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.2
Students per counselor 385:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 39.9%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Thief River Falls School District, which includes Franklin Middle.
$15,894
Per student
-25%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.9%
State 63.2%
Federal 12.9%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 727
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 521
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 23
- Students per teacher
- 32:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Franklin Middle
How many students attend Franklin Middle?
Franklin Middle has 454 students enrolled. It is a middle school in THIEF RIVER FALLS, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Franklin Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Franklin Middle is 15.6:1, which is 2% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 2% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Franklin Middle?
27.8% of students at Franklin Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Franklin Middle?
The largest demographic group at Franklin Middle is White at 78.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in THIEF RIVER FALLS, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Franklin Middle?
Franklin Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.