Enrollment
785
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 274227002646
Friendly Hills Middle — Mendota Heights, MN
Federal NCES profile for Friendly Hills Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 34
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: West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan · 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)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.9:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.9%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Friendly Hills 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
Friendly Hills Middle reports 785 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 53.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 16% below the Minnesota average and 31% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 262 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan spends $20,582 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 34.6% from local sources (property taxes), 53.8% from the state, and 11.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), 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 Friendly Hills 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 | 13.9:1 | ▼ 13% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.9% | ▼ 16% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 785 | top 90% | — | — |
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
35.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 16% 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
13.9:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 44% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 56% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
26.5%
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
$20,582
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $21,113
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 262 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
29
in-school suspensions + 34 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 785 Top 90% in Minnesota — larger than 10% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 53.0
Students per teacher 13.9:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.9% -16% vs state
NCES ID 274227002646
Student demographics
White 49.4%
Hispanic or Latino 24.5%
African American 12.7%
Two or More 8.5%
Asian 3.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Largest group: White at 49.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 262:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.5%
In-school suspensions 29
Out-of-school suspensions 34
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan, which includes Friendly Hills Middle.
$20,582
Per student
-3%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 34.6%
State 53.8%
Federal 11.7%
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
- 1,710
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 761
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 414
- Students per teacher
- 8.5:1
- Enrollment
- 412
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Enrollment
- 387
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
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 Friendly Hills Middle
How many students attend Friendly Hills Middle?
Friendly Hills Middle has 785 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Friendly Hills Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Friendly Hills Middle is 13.9:1, which is 13% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 13% 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 Friendly Hills Middle?
35.9% of students at Friendly Hills Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Friendly Hills Middle?
The largest demographic group at Friendly Hills Middle is White at 49.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Friendly Hills Middle?
Friendly Hills Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) 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.