Enrollment
5
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cloquet, MN
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative
Federal NCES profile for Northern Lights Academy Cooperative, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 270044205117
👥 S:T ratio 80
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Minnesota schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Minnesota.
- #2 of 9
- public schools in Cloquet · Resource Index
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 5:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 5
- students enrolled
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative has class sizes smaller than 94% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Northern Lights Academy Cooperative ranks #2 of 9 public schools in Cloquet, MN.
School address
District: Northern Lights Academy Cooperative · Minnesota
NCES ID 270044205117 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-68% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Northern Lights Academy Cooperative compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Northern Lights Academy Cooperative
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative is a small elementary school in Cloquet, Minnesota, enrolling 5 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 5:1, Northern Lights Academy Cooperative is leaner than roughly 94% of Minnesota schools and 68% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 97% of Minnesota schools, with 5 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Northern Lights Academy Cooperative spends $45,778 per pupil, 200% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative also operates Nla-Carlton (31 students) and Northern Lights Academy (14 students) alongside Northern Lights Academy Cooperative.
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 Northern Lights Academy Cooperative compares
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 5:1 | ▼ 68% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 5 | top 97% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
5:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
5
Bigger than 1% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
5:1
students per teacher
- 68% below state mean
Top 6% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.0%
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
$45,778
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially 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.
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
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Northern Lights Academy Cooperative, which includes Northern Lights Academy Cooperative.
$45,778
Per student
+200%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+176%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.7%
State 87.3%
Federal 2.0%
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 Northern Lights Academy Cooperative Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nla-Carlton | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Northern Lights Academy | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Northern Lights Academy Cooperative's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 31
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 14
- Students per teacher
- 4.7:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
Similar elementary 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 (~5 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Northern Lights Academy Cooperative's federal record.
- Compare Northern Lights Academy Cooperative against another school. Compare schools
- Northern Lights Academy Cooperative'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 Northern Lights Academy Cooperative
How many students attend Northern Lights Academy Cooperative?
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative has 5 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cloquet, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northern Lights Academy Cooperative?
The student-teacher ratio at Northern Lights Academy Cooperative is 5:1, which is 68% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 68% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northern Lights Academy Cooperative?
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Northern Lights Academy Cooperative rank among public schools in Cloquet?
By Resource Investment Index, Northern Lights Academy Cooperative ranks #2 of 9 public schools in Cloquet, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Cloquet on the city page.
Is Northern Lights Academy Cooperative a good school?
Northern Lights Academy Cooperative earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Minnesota schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Minnesota. 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 Northern Lights Academy Cooperative?
Besides Northern Lights Academy Cooperative, Northern Lights Academy Cooperative also operates Nla-Carlton (31 students) and Northern Lights Academy (14 students). See the Northern Lights Academy Cooperative 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.