Enrollment
213
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 270264000048
Lester Prairie Elementary — Lester Prairie, MN
Federal NCES profile for Lester Prairie Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 42
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 28
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: Lester Prairie Public School Dist. · 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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.6:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.2%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lester Prairie 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
Lester Prairie Elementary reports 213 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% 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 8% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 22.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% below the Minnesota average and 57% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 142 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 28.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lester Prairie Public School Dist. spends $18,656 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.0% from local sources (property taxes), 59.9% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Lester Prairie 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 | 14.6:1 | ▼ 8% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.2% | ▼ 48% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 213 | top 44% | — | — |
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
22.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% 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
14.6:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 51% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
28.6%
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
$18,656
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
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 142 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 213 Top 44% in Minnesota — larger than 56% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 14.6:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 22.2% -48% vs state
NCES ID 270264000048
Student demographics
White 70.0%
Hispanic or Latino 25.8%
Two or More 2.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
African American 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 70.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 142:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 28.6%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lester Prairie Public School Dist., which includes Lester Prairie Elementary.
$18,656
Per student
-12%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.0%
State 59.9%
Federal 10.1%
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
- 222
- Students per teacher
- 26.6:1
Similar other schools in Lester Prairie
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Lester Prairie Elementary
How many students attend Lester Prairie Elementary?
Lester Prairie Elementary has 213 students enrolled. It is a other school in LESTER PRAIRIE, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lester Prairie Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Lester Prairie Elementary is 14.6:1, which is 8% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 8% 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 Lester Prairie Elementary?
22.2% of students at Lester Prairie Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lester Prairie Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Lester Prairie Elementary is White at 70.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in LESTER PRAIRIE, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lester Prairie Elementary?
Lester Prairie Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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.