Enrollment
123
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Heron Lake, MN
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 271393000015
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 67
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% of Minnesota schools.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.3:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 48.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 123
- students enrolled
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary has class sizes smaller than 80% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Heron Lake-Okabena School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 271393000015 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.1%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+12% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Heron Lake, Minnesota, enrolling 123 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 48.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 123 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 169 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #44.
Its student body is led by White (80%) and Hispanic or Latino (13%) (diversity index 35/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 164 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district, Heron Lake-Okabena School District, also runs Heron Lake-Okabena Secondary (137 students).
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 Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary compares
Heron Lake-Okabena 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 | 10.3:1 | ▼ 35% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.1% | ▲ 12% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 123 | top 66% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
123
Bigger than 12% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
48.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 12% 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
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 35% below state mean
Top 20% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.3%
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
$14,855
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
Counselors0.8 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.9 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 79.7%
Hispanic or Latino 13.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.4%
Two or More 2.4%
African American 1.6%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: White at 79.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 34.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 34.6, Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Heron Lake-Okabena School District, which includes Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary.
$14,855
Per student
-3%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.2%
State 64.3%
Federal 9.5%
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 Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heron Lake-Okabena Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 137
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
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 (~123 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Heron Lake-Okabena 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 Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary
How many students attend Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary?
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary has 123 students enrolled. It is a public school in Heron Lake, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary is 10.3:1, which is 35% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 34% 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 Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary?
48.1% of students at Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary is White at 79.7% of enrollment, in Heron Lake, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary?
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary a good school?
Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% 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 Heron Lake-Okabena School District?
Besides Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary, Heron Lake-Okabena School District also operates Heron Lake-Okabena Secondary (137 students). See the Heron Lake-Okabena 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.