Enrollment
24
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Melstone, MT
Melstone School
Federal NCES profile for Melstone School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 301824000554
👥 S:T ratio 68
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 69
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Melstone School earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Montana schools.
- #2 of 3
- public schools in Melstone · Resource Index
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8:1
- small classes for Montana
- 24
- students enrolled
Melstone School has class sizes smaller than 77% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Melstone School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Melstone, MT.
School address
District: Melstone Elem · Montana
NCES ID 301824000554 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Melstone School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Melstone School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Melstone School sits near the smaller end of the Montana enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
A combined-grade campus has a different support burden
Melstone School serves a combined grade span rather than a conventional elementary, middle, or high-school band. That structure can require the same campus to cover transitions, counseling needs, and programs for students at substantially different developmental stages, so a single staffing ratio deserves more caution than it would at a narrower-grade school. Federal totals show the available people and programs, but not how those resources are divided among grade levels.
Melstone School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Melstone, Montana, enrolling 24 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 24 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment) (diversity index 0/100).
12.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 20.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, Melstone Elem, also runs Melstone Middle School (13 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 Melstone School compares
Melstone 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 | 8:1 | ▼ 32% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 24 | top 76% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8:1
Leaner classes than 95% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
24
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
8:1
students per teacher
- 32% below state mean
Top 23% in Montana - lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$20,170
per pupil, district-wide
- above Montana avg of $19,859
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
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.
Student demographics
White 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Melstone School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Melstone Elem, which includes Melstone School.
$20,170
Per student
+2%
vs Montana
Avg $19,859
+14%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 27.4%
State 52.1%
Federal 20.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Melstone School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melstone Middle School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Melstone School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 13
- Students per teacher
- 6.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
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 (~24 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Melstone School's federal record.
- Compare Melstone School against another school. Compare schools
- Melstone 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 Melstone School
How many students attend Melstone School?
Melstone School has 24 students enrolled. It is a public school in Melstone, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Melstone School?
The student-teacher ratio at Melstone School is 8:1, which is 32% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 49% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Melstone School?
The largest demographic group at Melstone School is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Melstone, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Melstone School?
Melstone School has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Melstone School rank among public schools in Melstone?
By Resource Investment Index, Melstone School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Melstone, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking.
What other schools are in Melstone Elem?
Besides Melstone School, Melstone Elem also operates Melstone Middle School (13 students). See the Melstone 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.