Enrollment
271
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Ontonagon, MI
Ontonagon Area School
Federal NCES profile for Ontonagon Area School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 262655006301
👥 S:T ratio 32
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ontonagon Area School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median.
- 27
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16.9:1
- students per teacher
- 49.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 271
- students enrolled
Ontonagon Area School has class sizes near the Michigan median. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Ontonagon Area School District · Michigan
NCES ID 262655006301 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.9:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
49.5%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
-9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ontonagon Area School compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ontonagon Area School
Ontonagon Area School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Ontonagon, Michigan, enrolling 271 students.
At 16.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Michigan median, within a few percentage points of the 17.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 49.5% lands close to the Michigan typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 271 students, its enrollment sits close to the Michigan median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 547 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #287.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 271 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 41.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 18.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Ontonagon Area School District operates only this one school, so Ontonagon Area School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Ontonagon Area School compares
Ontonagon Area School on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.9:1 | ▼ 3% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 49.5% | ▼ 9% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 271 | top 64% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.9:1
Leaner classes than 31% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
271
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
49.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 9% below the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.9:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 52% in Michigan - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
41.7%
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
$12,906
per pupil, district-wide
- below Michigan avg of $13,507
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 271 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 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 89.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 5.2%
Two or More 3.0%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 89.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.8, Ontonagon Area School is less mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ontonagon Area School District, which includes Ontonagon Area School.
$12,906
Per student
-4%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 57.4%
State 23.8%
Federal 18.8%
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 Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~271 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ontonagon Area School's federal record.
- Compare Ontonagon Area School against another school. Compare schools
- Ontonagon Area 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 Ontonagon Area School
How many students attend Ontonagon Area School?
Ontonagon Area School has 271 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ontonagon, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ontonagon Area School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ontonagon Area School is 16.9:1, which is 3% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 8% 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 Ontonagon Area School?
49.5% of students at Ontonagon Area School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ontonagon Area School?
The largest demographic group at Ontonagon Area School is White at 89.3% of enrollment, in Ontonagon, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ontonagon Area School?
Ontonagon Area School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower 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).
Is Ontonagon Area School a good school?
Ontonagon Area School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan 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 Ontonagon Area School District?
None reported; Ontonagon Area School District operates only Ontonagon Area School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.