Enrollment
213
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lester Prairie, MN
Lester Prairie Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Lester Prairie Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270264000048
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 28
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lester Prairie Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.5:1
- students per teacher
- 22.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 213
- students enrolled
Lester Prairie Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lester Prairie Public School Dist. · Minnesota
NCES ID 270264000048 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-21% 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
What stands out at Lester Prairie Elementary
Lester Prairie Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Lester Prairie, Minnesota, enrolling 213 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 22.2% of students eligible for free meals.
With 213 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 200 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #67.
Its student body is led by White (70%) and Hispanic or Latino (26%) (diversity index 44/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 142 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Lester Prairie Public School Dist. spends $11,862 per pupil, 22% below the Minnesota average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district, Lester Prairie Public School Dist., also runs Lester Prairie Secondary (222 students).
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 Lester Prairie Elementary compares
Lester Prairie 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 | 12.5:1 | ▼ 21% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.2% | ▼ 48% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 213 | top 56% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
213
Bigger than 21% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
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
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 33% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.6%
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
$11,862
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that 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
- 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 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.
Student-body diversity index 44.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 44.3, Lester Prairie Elementary is about as mixed as the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lester Prairie Public School Dist., which includes Lester Prairie Elementary.
$11,862
Per student
-22%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
How Lester Prairie Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lester Prairie Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lester Prairie Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 222
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~213 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lester Prairie Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Lester Prairie Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lester Prairie Public School Dist.'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 Lester Prairie Elementary
How many students attend Lester Prairie Elementary?
Lester Prairie Elementary has 213 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lester Prairie, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lester Prairie Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Lester Prairie Elementary is 12.5:1, which is 21% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. 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% of enrollment, in Lester Prairie, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lester Prairie Elementary?
Lester Prairie Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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).
Is Lester Prairie Elementary a good school?
Lester Prairie Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. 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 Lester Prairie Public School Dist.?
Besides Lester Prairie Elementary, Lester Prairie Public School Dist. also operates Lester Prairie Secondary (222 students). See the Lester Prairie Public School Dist. 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.