Enrollment
9
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sunburst, MT
Hillside Colony School
Federal NCES profile for Hillside Colony School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 300009300081
👥 S:T ratio 64
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Hillside Colony School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Montana schools.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Sunburst · Resource Index
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9:1
- small classes for Montana
- 9
- students enrolled
Hillside Colony School has class sizes smaller than 72% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Hillside Colony School ranks #2 of 3 schools in Sunburst, MT.
School address
District: Liberty Elem · Montana
NCES ID 300009300081 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hillside Colony School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Hillside Colony School
Hillside Colony School is a small combined-grade school in Sunburst, Montana, enrolling 9 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 92% of Montana schools, with 9 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
The surrounding Liberty Elem spends $9,986 per pupil, 48% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 20.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Sunburst's public schools, it stands alongside Sunburst Elementary (57 students): Hillside Colony School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (9:1 vs 7.1:1).
Liberty Elem also operates Riverview Elementary (19 students) and Liberty Elementary School (13 students) alongside Hillside Colony School.
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 Hillside Colony School compares
Hillside Colony School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9:1 | ▼ 24% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 9 | top 92% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9:1
Leaner classes than 93% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
9
Bigger than 1% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 28% in Montana - lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$9,986
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,282
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that 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.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Liberty Elem, which includes Hillside Colony School.
$9,986
Per student
-48%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 11.2%
State 67.9%
Federal 20.9%
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 Hillside Colony School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverview Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Liberty Elementary School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Rimrock Colony School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Hillside Colony School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 19
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 13
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 12
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar other schools in Sunburst
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~9 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Hillside Colony School's federal record.
- Compare Hillside Colony School against another school. Compare schools
- Liberty Elem'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 Hillside Colony School
How many students attend Hillside Colony School?
Hillside Colony School has 9 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sunburst, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hillside Colony School?
The student-teacher ratio at Hillside Colony School is 9:1, which is 24% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 43% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hillside Colony School?
Hillside Colony School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Hillside Colony School rank among schools in Sunburst?
By Resource Investment Index, Hillside Colony School ranks #2 of 3 schools in Sunburst, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Sunburst on the city page.
Is Hillside Colony School a good school?
Hillside Colony School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Montana 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 Liberty Elem?
Besides Hillside Colony School, Liberty Elem also operates Riverview Elementary (19 students), Liberty Elementary School (13 students), and Rimrock Colony School (12 students). See the Liberty Elem 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.