Other / mixed grade configuration · Great Falls, MT

Morningside School

Federal NCES profile for Morningside School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 301304000368
0/100100/10044/100
👥 S:T ratio
48
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
59
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Morningside School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median.

#4 of 17
schools in Great Falls · Resource Index
44
Resource Index · Typical
12.9:1
students per teacher
206
students enrolled

Morningside School has class sizes near the Montana median. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Morningside School ranks #4 of 17 schools in Great Falls, MT.

School address

Enrollment

206

Montana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

16.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.9:1

vs 11.8:1 Montana avg

+9% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Morningside School compares with Montana and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Morningside School

Morningside School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Great Falls, Montana, enrolling 206 students.

At 12.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Montana median, within a few percentage points of the 11.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Enrollment of 206 puts it in the larger third of Montana schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 206 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Great Falls Elem spends $12,418 per pupil, 36% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 27.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Great Falls's public schools, it stands alongside Meadow Lark School (527 students): Morningside School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.9:1 vs 22:1).

Great Falls Elem also operates East Middle School (764 students) and North Middle School (764 students) alongside Morningside School.

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 Morningside School compares

Morningside 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 12.9:1 ▲ 9% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 206 top 31% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
206
Bigger than 20% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher - 9% above state mean
Top 57% in Montana - lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
46.6%
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
$12,418
per pupil, district-wide - below Montana avg of $19,282
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 206 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
25
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.6 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.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Great Falls Elem, which includes Morningside School.

$12,418
Per student
-36%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.9%
State 38.7%
Federal 27.4%

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 Morningside School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
East Middle School Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
North Middle School Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Meadow Lark School Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Riverview School Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Giant Springs Elementary Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Morningside School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Great Falls Elem · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Great Falls

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Morningside School's federal record.

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 Morningside School

How many students attend Morningside School?

Morningside School has 206 students enrolled. It is a public school in Great Falls, MT.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Morningside School?

The student-teacher ratio at Morningside School is 12.9:1, which is 9% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Morningside School?

Morningside School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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).

How does Morningside School rank among schools in Great Falls?

By Resource Investment Index, Morningside School ranks #4 of 17 schools in Great Falls, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Great Falls on the city page.

Is Morningside School a good school?

Morningside School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana 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 Great Falls Elem?

Besides Morningside School, Great Falls Elem also operates East Middle School (764 students), North Middle School (764 students), and Meadow Lark School (527 students). See the Great Falls Elem district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.