Enrollment
117
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Garfield, MN
Garfield Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Garfield Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 270306000084
👥 S:T ratio 58
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 79
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Garfield Elementary earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.6:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 18.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 117
- students enrolled
Garfield Elementary has class sizes smaller than 79% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Alexandria Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 270306000084 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.6:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.8%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Garfield Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Garfield Elementary
Garfield Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Garfield, Minnesota, enrolling 117 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 18.8% free-meal eligibility runs 56% below the Minnesota average.
Enrollment of 117 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 109 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #18.
Its student body is predominantly White (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 5/100).
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Alexandria Public School District also operates Alexandria Area High School (1,315 students) and Discovery Middle School (898 students) alongside Garfield 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 Garfield Elementary compares
Garfield 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 | 10.6:1 | ▼ 33% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.8% | ▼ 56% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 117 | top 67% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.6:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
117
Bigger than 12% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
18.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 56% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.6:1
students per teacher
- 33% below state mean
Top 21% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
8.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$14,182
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
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 97.4%
Two or More 1.7%
Hispanic or Latino 0.9%
Largest group: White at 97.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.1, Garfield Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alexandria Public School District, which includes Garfield Elementary.
$14,182
Per student
-7%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.0%
State 60.5%
Federal 10.4%
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 Garfield Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria Area High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Discovery Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lincoln Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Voyager Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Woodland Elementary School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Garfield Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,315
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 898
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 481
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 446
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 410
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
Similar elementary 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 (~117 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Garfield Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Garfield Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Alexandria Public 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 Garfield Elementary
How many students attend Garfield Elementary?
Garfield Elementary has 117 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Garfield, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Garfield Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Garfield Elementary is 10.6:1, which is 33% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 32% 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 Garfield Elementary?
18.8% of students at Garfield Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Garfield Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Garfield Elementary is White at 97.4% of enrollment, in Garfield, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Garfield Elementary?
Garfield Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher 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 Garfield Elementary a good school?
Garfield Elementary earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Alexandria Public School District?
Besides Garfield Elementary, Alexandria Public School District also operates Alexandria Area High School (1,315 students), Discovery Middle School (898 students), and Lincoln Elementary (481 students). See the Alexandria Public 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.