Enrollment
27
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Valier, MT
Pondera Colony School
Federal NCES profile for Pondera Colony School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 300010201116
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 89
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pondera Colony School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of Montana schools.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Valier · Resource Index
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 27:1
- large classes for Montana
- 27
- students enrolled
Pondera Colony School has class sizes larger than 99% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Pondera Colony School ranks #2 of 3 schools in Valier, MT.
School address
District: Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools · Montana
NCES ID 300010201116 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
27:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+129% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pondera Colony School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pondera Colony School
Pondera Colony School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Valier, Montana, enrolling 27 students.
Class loads run heavy: 27:1 is larger than about 99% of Montana schools and 129% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 27 puts it in the smaller 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 54 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Its district draws 19.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Valier's public schools, it stands alongside Valier School (58 students): Pondera Colony School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (27:1 vs 9.7:1).
Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools also operates Dutton/Brady Elementary (36 students) and Dutton/Brady High School (25 students) alongside Pondera Colony 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 Pondera Colony School compares
Pondera Colony 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 | 27:1 | ▲ 129% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 27 | top 74% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
27:1
Leaner classes than 3% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
27
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
27:1
students per teacher
- 129% above state mean
Top 99% in Montana - lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Funding equity
$20,418
per pupil, district-wide
- above Montana avg of $19,282
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 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 Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools, which includes Pondera Colony School.
$20,418
Per student
+6%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 47.6%
State 32.8%
Federal 19.6%
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 Pondera Colony School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dutton/Brady Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dutton/Brady High School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Midway Colony | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dutton/Brady Middle School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pondera Colony School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 36
- Students per teacher
- 7.2:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 25
- Students per teacher
- 5:1
- Resource Index
- 65/100
- Enrollment
- 18
- Students per teacher
- 9:1
- Resource Index
- 62/100
- Enrollment
- 15
- Students per teacher
- 7.5:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
Similar other schools in Valier
2 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.
Similar enrollment (~27 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~27:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pondera Colony School's federal record.
- Compare Pondera Colony School against another school. Compare schools
- Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools'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 Pondera Colony School
How many students attend Pondera Colony School?
Pondera Colony School has 27 students enrolled. It is a public school in Valier, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pondera Colony School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pondera Colony School is 27:1, which is 129% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 72% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pondera Colony School?
Pondera Colony School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Pondera Colony School rank among schools in Valier?
By Resource Investment Index, Pondera Colony School ranks #2 of 3 schools in Valier, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Valier on the city page.
Is Pondera Colony School a good school?
Pondera Colony School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of Montana 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 Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools?
Besides Pondera Colony School, Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools also operates Dutton/Brady Elementary (36 students), Dutton/Brady High School (25 students), and Midway Colony (18 students). See the Dutton/Brady K-12 Schools 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.