Enrollment
136
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Ponemah, MN
Ponemah Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Ponemah Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 273051001301
👥 S:T ratio 68
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ponemah Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 97.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 136
- students enrolled
Ponemah Elementary has class sizes smaller than 88% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Red Lake Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 273051001301 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-49% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
97.7%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+128% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ponemah Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ponemah Elementary
Ponemah Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Ponemah, Minnesota, enrolling 136 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8:1, Ponemah Elementary is leaner than roughly 88% of Minnesota schools and 49% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 97.7% of students qualify for free meals, 128% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 136 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 35 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #24.
Its student body is predominantly American Indian / Alaska Native (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 7/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 97.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Red Lake Public School District spends $26,444 per pupil, 73% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 39.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Red Lake Public School District also operates Red Lake Elementary (526 students) and Red Lake Secondary (377 students) alongside Ponemah Elementary.
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 Ponemah Elementary compares
Ponemah Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8:1 | ▼ 49% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 97.7% | ▲ 128% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 136 | top 64% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8:1
Leaner classes than 95% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
136
Bigger than 13% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
97.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 128% 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
8:1
students per teacher
- 49% below state mean
Top 12% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
97.1%
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
$26,444
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 + 18 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.2 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
American Indian / Alaska Native 96.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
White 0.7%
Two or More 0.7%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 96.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 7.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 7.2, Ponemah Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Red Lake Public School District, which includes Ponemah Elementary.
$26,444
Per student
+73%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+59%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 0.9%
State 59.2%
Federal 39.9%
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 Ponemah Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lake Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Red Lake Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Red Lake Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Red Lake Early Childhood Center | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Red Lake Alternative Learning | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ponemah Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 526
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 377
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
- Enrollment
- 268
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 137
- Students per teacher
- 9.8:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 53
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
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 (~136 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ponemah Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Ponemah Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Red Lake Public 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 Ponemah Elementary
How many students attend Ponemah Elementary?
Ponemah Elementary has 136 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ponemah, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ponemah Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Ponemah Elementary is 8:1, which is 49% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 49% 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 Ponemah Elementary?
97.7% of students at Ponemah Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ponemah Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Ponemah Elementary is American Indian / Alaska Native at 96.3% of enrollment, in Ponemah, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ponemah Elementary?
Ponemah Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Ponemah Elementary a good school?
Ponemah Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Red Lake Public School District?
Besides Ponemah Elementary, Red Lake Public School District also operates Red Lake Elementary (526 students), Red Lake Secondary (377 students), and Red Lake Middle School (268 students). See the Red Lake Public School District 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.