Enrollment
91
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Warba, MN
Northern Lights Community School
Federal NCES profile for Northern Lights Community School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270025603314Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 67
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Northern Lights Community School earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Minnesota schools.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8.3:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 73.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 91
- students enrolled
Northern Lights Community School has class sizes smaller than 87% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Northern Lights Community School · Minnesota
NCES ID 270025603314 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.3:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
73.2%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+71% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Northern Lights Community School compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Northern Lights Community School
Northern Lights Community School is a higher-need, mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Warba, Minnesota, enrolling 91 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.3:1, Northern Lights Community School is leaner than roughly 87% of Minnesota schools and 47% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 73.2% of students qualify for free meals, 71% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 91 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 89 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #64, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (80% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 93.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Northern Lights Community School spends $23,955 per pupil, 57% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 20.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 29 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 91 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Northern Lights Community School is a single-school charter district, so Northern Lights Community School operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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 Community School compares
Northern Lights Community School on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.3:1 | ▼ 47% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 73.2% | ▲ 71% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 91 | top 72% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.3:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
91
Bigger than 9% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
73.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 71% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.3:1
students per teacher
- 47% below state mean
Top 13% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
93.4%
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
$23,955
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 + 29 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 31.9 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 80.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 8.8%
African American 5.5%
Two or More 4.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1.1%
Largest group: White at 80.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 34.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 34.4, Northern Lights Community School is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Northern Lights Community School, which includes Northern Lights Community School.
$23,955
Per student
+57%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+44%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 1.6%
State 78.3%
Federal 20.2%
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.
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 (~91 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Northern Lights Community School's federal record.
- Compare Northern Lights Community School against another school. Compare schools
- Northern Lights Community School'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 Community School
How many students attend Northern Lights Community School?
Northern Lights Community School has 91 students enrolled. It is a public school in Warba, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northern Lights Community School?
The student-teacher ratio at Northern Lights Community School is 8.3:1, which is 47% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 47% 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 Northern Lights Community School?
73.2% of students at Northern Lights Community School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northern Lights Community School?
The largest demographic group at Northern Lights Community School is White at 80.2% of enrollment, in Warba, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northern Lights Community School?
Northern Lights Community School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical 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).
Is Northern Lights Community School a good school?
Northern Lights Community School earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Minnesota schools. 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 Community School?
None; Northern Lights Community School is a single-school charter district, and Northern Lights Community School is its only campus.
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.