Other / mixed grade configuration · Saint Paul, MN

Highland Park Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Highland Park Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 273384001590
0/100100/10035/100
👥 S:T ratio
35
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
19
📋 Attendance
14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Highland Park Elementary earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.

#61 of 86
schools in Saint Paul · Resource Index
35
Resource Index · Typical
16.2:1
students per teacher
70.2%
free-lunch eligible

Highland Park Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Highland Park Elementary ranks #61 of 86 schools in Saint Paul, MN.

Enrollment

406

Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

25.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.2:1

vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg

+3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

70.2%

vs 42.8% Minnesota avg

+64% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Highland Park Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Highland Park Elementary

Highland Park Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, enrolling 406 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.2:1 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 70.2% of students qualify for free meals, 64% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 406 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.

Against 143 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #90.

Its student body is led by African American (49%) and White (21%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 68/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 406 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Saint Paul Public Schools spends $20,457 per pupil, 34% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 21.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Saint Paul Public Schools also operates Central Senior High (1,682 students) and Harding Senior High (1,591 students) alongside Highland Park 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 Highland Park Elementary compares

Highland Park 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 16.2:1 ▲ 3% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 70.2% ▲ 64% 42.8% 51.7%
Enrollment 406 top 35% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.2:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
406
Bigger than 48% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
70.2%
free-lunch eligible - 64% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher - 3% above state mean
Top 64% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
34.2%
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
$20,457
per pupil, district-wide - above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 406 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.7 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

African American 49.3%
White 20.7%
Two or More 13.8%
Hispanic or Latino 10.8%
Asian 5.4%

Largest group: African American at 49.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 68.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 68.0, Highland Park Elementary is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Saint Paul Public Schools, which includes Highland Park Elementary.

$20,457
Per student
+34%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.8%
State 53.2%
Federal 21.0%

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 Highland Park Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Central Senior High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Harding Senior High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Highland Park Senior High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Johnson Senior High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Capitol Hill Magnet/Rondo Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Highland Park Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Saint Paul Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Highland Park Elementary's federal record.

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 Highland Park Elementary

How many students attend Highland Park Elementary?

Highland Park Elementary has 406 students enrolled. It is a public school in Saint Paul, MN.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Park Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Highland Park Elementary is 16.2:1, which is 3% higher than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highland Park Elementary?

70.2% of students at Highland Park Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highland Park Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Highland Park Elementary is African American at 49.3% of enrollment, in Saint Paul, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.0/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Highland Park Elementary?

Highland Park Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical 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).

How does Highland Park Elementary rank among schools in Saint Paul?

By Resource Investment Index, Highland Park Elementary ranks #61 of 86 schools in Saint Paul, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Saint Paul on the city page.

Is Highland Park Elementary a good school?

Highland Park Elementary earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also more 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 Saint Paul Public Schools?

Besides Highland Park Elementary, Saint Paul Public Schools also operates Central Senior High (1,682 students), Harding Senior High (1,591 students), and Highland Park Senior High (1,392 students). See the Saint Paul Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.