Enrollment
329
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Poplar, MT
Poplar School
Federal NCES profile for Poplar School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 302124000637
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 67
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Poplar School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Poplar · Resource Index
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.3:1
- students per teacher
- 329
- students enrolled
Poplar School has class sizes near the Montana median. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Poplar School ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Poplar, MT.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Poplar School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Poplar School
Poplar School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Poplar, Montana, enrolling 329 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 329 puts it in the larger third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly American Indian / Alaska Native (96% of enrollment) (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 165 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 66.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 58.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Poplar Elem also operates Poplar 5-6 School (124 students) and Poplar 7-8 (117 students) alongside Poplar 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 Poplar School compares
Poplar 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 | 10.3:1 | ▼ 13% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 329 | top 17% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
329
Bigger than 37% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 13% below state mean
Top 36% in Montana - lower ratio than 64% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
66.6%
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
$20,654
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 165 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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.
Student demographics
American Indian / Alaska Native 95.7%
White 2.1%
Two or More 1.8%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 95.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.3, Poplar School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poplar Elem, which includes Poplar School.
$20,654
Per student
+7%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
+24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 12.8%
State 28.9%
Federal 58.2%
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.
How Poplar School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar 5-6 School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Poplar 7-8 | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Poplar School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 124
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 117
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
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 (~329 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Poplar School's federal record.
- Compare Poplar School against another school. Compare schools
- Poplar Elem'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 Poplar School
How many students attend Poplar School?
Poplar School has 329 students enrolled. It is a public school in Poplar, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Poplar School?
The student-teacher ratio at Poplar School is 10.3:1, which is 13% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 34% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Poplar School?
The largest demographic group at Poplar School is American Indian / Alaska Native at 95.7% of enrollment, in Poplar, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Poplar School?
Poplar School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical 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).
How does Poplar School rank among public schools in Poplar?
By Resource Investment Index, Poplar School ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Poplar, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Poplar on the city page.
Is Poplar School a good school?
Poplar School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana 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 Poplar Elem?
Besides Poplar School, Poplar Elem also operates Poplar 5-6 School (124 students) and Poplar 7-8 (117 students). See the Poplar Elem 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.