Enrollment
115
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 271807000046
Hilltop Elementary — Henderson, MN
Federal NCES profile for Hilltop Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 54
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 77
📋 Attendance 33
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Le Sueur-Henderson School District · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hilltop Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Hilltop Elementary reports 115 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 10.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 28% below the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 36.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 15% below the Minnesota average and 30% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 115 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 27.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Le Sueur-Henderson School District spends $15,180 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.8% from local sources (property taxes), 64.6% from the state, and 9.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Hilltop Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 28% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.5% | ▼ 15% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 115 | top 32% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
36.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 15% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
— 28% below state mean
Top 24% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
27.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,180
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $21,113
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 115 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 115 Top 32% in Minnesota — larger than 68% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 10.0
Students per teacher 11.5:1 -28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 36.5% -15% vs state
NCES ID 271807000046
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 115:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 27.0%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Le Sueur-Henderson School District, which includes Hilltop Elementary.
$15,180
Per student
-28%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.8%
State 64.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 500
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 390
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Enrollment
- 244
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 18
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
Similar elementary schools in Henderson
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Hilltop Elementary
How many students attend Hilltop Elementary?
Hilltop Elementary has 115 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in HENDERSON, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hilltop Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Hilltop Elementary is 11.5:1, which is 28% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 28% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hilltop Elementary?
36.5% of students at Hilltop Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hilltop Elementary?
Hilltop Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.