Enrollment
5
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Fairmont, MN
Positive Approach to Learning
Federal NCES profile for Positive Approach to Learning, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270004603691
👥 S:T ratio 80
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Positive Approach to Learning earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Minnesota schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Minnesota.
- #3 of 6
- schools in Fairmont · Resource Index
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 5:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 5
- students enrolled
Positive Approach to Learning has class sizes smaller than 94% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Positive Approach to Learning ranks #3 of 6 schools in Fairmont, MN.
School address
District: Southern Plains Education Coop. · Minnesota
NCES ID 270004603691 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-68% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Positive Approach to Learning compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Positive Approach to Learning
Positive Approach to Learning is a small combined-grade school in Fairmont, Minnesota, enrolling 5 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 5:1, Positive Approach to Learning is leaner than roughly 94% of Minnesota schools and 68% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 97% of Minnesota schools, with 5 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
Its district draws 20.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Southern Plains Education Coop. also operates Southern Plains Area Learning Cntr. (47 students) and Southern Plains Bridges (23 students) alongside Positive Approach to Learning.
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 Positive Approach to Learning compares
Positive Approach to Learning on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 5:1 | ▼ 68% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 5 | top 97% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
5:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
5
Bigger than 1% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
5:1
students per teacher
- 68% below state mean
Top 6% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 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.
Student demographics
White 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Positive Approach to Learning is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
How Positive Approach to Learning Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Plains Area Learning Cntr. | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southern Plains Bridges | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Southern Plains Education Coop. | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Positive Approach to Learning's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 47
- Students per teacher
- 9.4:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
- Enrollment
- 23
- Students per teacher
- 5.8:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 19
- Students per teacher
- 6.3:1
- Resource Index
- 75/100
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 (~5 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Positive Approach to Learning's federal record.
- Compare Positive Approach to Learning against another school. Compare schools
- Southern Plains Education Coop.'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 Positive Approach to Learning
How many students attend Positive Approach to Learning?
Positive Approach to Learning has 5 students enrolled. It is a special-education school in Fairmont, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Positive Approach to Learning?
The student-teacher ratio at Positive Approach to Learning is 5:1, which is 68% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 68% 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 Positive Approach to Learning?
The largest demographic group at Positive Approach to Learning is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Fairmont, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Positive Approach to Learning?
Positive Approach to Learning has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Positive Approach to Learning rank among schools in Fairmont?
By Resource Investment Index, Positive Approach to Learning ranks #3 of 6 schools in Fairmont, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Fairmont on the city page.
Is Positive Approach to Learning a good school?
Positive Approach to Learning earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Minnesota schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Minnesota. 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 Southern Plains Education Coop.?
Besides Positive Approach to Learning, Southern Plains Education Coop. also operates Southern Plains Area Learning Cntr. (47 students), Southern Plains Bridges (23 students), and Southern Plains Education Coop. (19 students). See the Southern Plains Education Coop. 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.