Enrollment
58
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sauk Rapids, MN
Hillside Early Childhood Center
Federal NCES profile for Hillside Early Childhood Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 273288005206
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Hillside Early Childhood Center earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Sauk Rapids · Resource Index
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 44.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 58
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Hillside Early Childhood Center ranks #2 of 3 schools in Sauk Rapids, MN.
School address
District: Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools · Minnesota
NCES ID 273288005206 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
44.2%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+3% vs state
What stands out at Hillside Early Childhood Center
Hillside Early Childhood Center is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, enrolling 58 students.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 44.2% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 58 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 118 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #87, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (69%) and African American (12%) (diversity index 50/100).
Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools also operates Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High (1,319 students) and Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School (1,055 students) alongside Hillside Early Childhood Center.
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 Early Childhood Center compares
Hillside Early Childhood Center on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.2% | ▲ 3% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 58 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
58
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
44.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 3% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Funding equity
$13,440
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 69.0%
African American 12.1%
Two or More 10.3%
Asian 5.2%
Hispanic or Latino 3.4%
Largest group: White at 69.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 49.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 49.5, Hillside Early Childhood Center is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools, which includes Hillside Early Childhood Center.
$13,440
Per student
-12%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.6%
State 69.8%
Federal 8.6%
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 Early Childhood Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Mississippi Heights Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Pleasantview Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Rice Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Hillside Early Childhood Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,319
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 1,055
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 808
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 734
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 357
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
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.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Hillside Early Childhood Center's federal record.
- Compare Hillside Early Childhood Center against another school. Compare schools
- Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools'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 Early Childhood Center
How many students attend Hillside Early Childhood Center?
Hillside Early Childhood Center has 58 students enrolled. It is a special-education school in Sauk Rapids, MN.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hillside Early Childhood Center?
44.2% of students at Hillside Early Childhood Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hillside Early Childhood Center?
The largest demographic group at Hillside Early Childhood Center is White at 69.0% of enrollment, in Sauk Rapids, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hillside Early Childhood Center?
Hillside Early Childhood Center has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 1 factor: 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 Early Childhood Center rank among schools in Sauk Rapids?
By Resource Investment Index, Hillside Early Childhood Center ranks #2 of 3 schools in Sauk Rapids, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Sauk Rapids on the city page.
Is Hillside Early Childhood Center a good school?
Hillside Early Childhood Center earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. 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 Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools?
Besides Hillside Early Childhood Center, Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools also operates Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High (1,319 students), Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School (1,055 students), and Mississippi Heights Elementary (808 students). See the Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools 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.