Enrollment
392
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Aurora, MN
Mesabi East Secondary
Federal NCES profile for Mesabi East Secondary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 279145002326
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 22
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mesabi East Secondary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- 22
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.7:1
- students per teacher
- 35.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 392
- students enrolled
Mesabi East Secondary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Mesabi East School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 279145002326 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.7%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-17% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mesabi East Secondary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mesabi East Secondary
Mesabi East Secondary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Aurora, Minnesota, enrolling 392 students.
At 15.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Minnesota median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 35.7% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 392 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 92% of the 2,334 Minnesota schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 421 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #389, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 392 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 52.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Discipline events run high: 141 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 392 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Its district, Mesabi East School District, also runs Mesabi East Elementary (470 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 Mesabi East Secondary compares
Mesabi East Secondary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.7:1 | ▼ 1% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.7% | ▼ 17% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 392 | top 37% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.7:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
392
Bigger than 46% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
35.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 17% 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
15.7:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 60% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
52.0%
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
$15,497
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 392 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
91
in-school suspensions + 50 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 23.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 36.0 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 88.8%
Two or More 5.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.3%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 88.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.7, Mesabi East Secondary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mesabi East School District, which includes Mesabi East Secondary.
$15,497
Per student
+1%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 31.4%
State 56.3%
Federal 12.3%
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 Mesabi East Secondary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesabi East Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Mesabi East Secondary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 470
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- 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.
Similar enrollment (~392 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mesabi East Secondary's federal record.
- Compare Mesabi East Secondary against another school. Compare schools
- Mesabi East School District'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 Mesabi East Secondary
How many students attend Mesabi East Secondary?
Mesabi East Secondary has 392 students enrolled. It is a public school in Aurora, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mesabi East Secondary?
The student-teacher ratio at Mesabi East Secondary is 15.7:1, which is 1% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 0% higher 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 Mesabi East Secondary?
35.7% of students at Mesabi East Secondary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mesabi East Secondary?
The largest demographic group at Mesabi East Secondary is White at 88.8% of enrollment, in Aurora, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mesabi East Secondary?
Mesabi East Secondary has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Mesabi East Secondary a good school?
Mesabi East Secondary earns 22/100 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 Mesabi East School District?
Besides Mesabi East Secondary, Mesabi East School District also operates Mesabi East Elementary (470 students). See the Mesabi East School District 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.