Enrollment
97
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Starbuck, MN
Glacial Hills Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Glacial Hills Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270029303628Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 81
📋 Attendance 69
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Glacial Hills Elementary earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Minnesota schools.
- 59
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.8:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 52.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 97
- students enrolled
Glacial Hills Elementary has class sizes smaller than 78% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Glacial Hills Elementary · Minnesota
NCES ID 270029303628 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-32% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
52.7%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Glacial Hills Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Glacial Hills Elementary
Glacial Hills Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Starbuck, Minnesota, enrolling 97 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 52.7% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 97 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 91% of the 2,334 Minnesota schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 147 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #22.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 97 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
12.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Glacial Hills Elementary spends $18,685 per pupil, 22% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 20.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Glacial Hills Elementary is a single-school charter district, so Glacial Hills Elementary operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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 Glacial Hills Elementary compares
Glacial Hills 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 | 10.8:1 | ▼ 32% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 52.7% | ▲ 23% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 97 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.8:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
97
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
52.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 23% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 32% below state mean
Top 22% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$18,685
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 97 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.1 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 86.6%
Hispanic or Latino 7.2%
Two or More 4.1%
African American 2.1%
Largest group: White at 86.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.3, Glacial Hills Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Glacial Hills Elementary, which includes Glacial Hills Elementary.
$18,685
Per student
+22%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 12.6%
State 67.0%
Federal 20.4%
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.
Similar other 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 (~97 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Glacial Hills Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Glacial Hills Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Glacial Hills Elementary'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 Glacial Hills Elementary
How many students attend Glacial Hills Elementary?
Glacial Hills Elementary has 97 students enrolled. It is a public school in Starbuck, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Glacial Hills Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Glacial Hills Elementary is 10.8:1, which is 32% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 31% 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 Glacial Hills Elementary?
52.7% of students at Glacial Hills Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Glacial Hills Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Glacial Hills Elementary is White at 86.6% of enrollment, in Starbuck, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Glacial Hills Elementary?
Glacial Hills Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Glacial Hills Elementary a good school?
Glacial Hills Elementary earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of 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 Glacial Hills Elementary?
None; Glacial Hills Elementary is a single-school charter district, and Glacial Hills Elementary is its only campus.
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.