Enrollment
26
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Spicer, MN
Prairie Meadows Learning Center
Federal NCES profile for Prairie Meadows Learning Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 272340004770
👥 S:T ratio 83
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Prairie Meadows Learning Center earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Minnesota schools.
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 4.3:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 68.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 26
- students enrolled
Prairie Meadows Learning Center has class sizes smaller than 96% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: New London-Spicer School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 272340004770 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
6.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
4.3:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-73% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
68.2%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+59% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie Meadows Learning Center compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Prairie Meadows Learning Center
Prairie Meadows Learning Center is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Spicer, Minnesota, enrolling 26 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 4.3:1, Prairie Meadows Learning Center is leaner than roughly 96% of Minnesota schools and 73% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 68.2% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 26 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 81 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #13.
Its student body is led by White (65%) and Hispanic or Latino (23%) (diversity index 51/100).
New London-Spicer School District also operates Prairie Woods Elementary (578 students) and New London-Spicer Middle (454 students) alongside Prairie Meadows Learning Center.
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 Prairie Meadows Learning Center compares
Prairie Meadows Learning Center on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 4.3:1 | ▼ 73% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 68.2% | ▲ 59% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 26 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
4.3:1
Leaner classes than 99% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
26
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
68.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 59% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
4.3:1
students per teacher
- 73% below state mean
Top 4% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$12,686
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
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 65.4%
Hispanic or Latino 23.1%
Two or More 7.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.8%
Largest group: White at 65.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 51.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 51.2, Prairie Meadows Learning Center is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for New London-Spicer School District, which includes Prairie Meadows Learning Center.
$12,686
Per student
-17%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.9%
State 66.0%
Federal 8.1%
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 Prairie Meadows Learning Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Woods Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| New London-Spicer Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| New London-Spicer Sr. | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| New London Alternative School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Prairie Meadows Learning Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 578
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 454
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 448
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 12
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
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 (~26 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~4.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Prairie Meadows Learning Center's federal record.
- Compare Prairie Meadows Learning Center against another school. Compare schools
- New London-Spicer 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 Prairie Meadows Learning Center
How many students attend Prairie Meadows Learning Center?
Prairie Meadows Learning Center has 26 students enrolled. It is a special-education school in Spicer, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Meadows Learning Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie Meadows Learning Center is 4.3:1, which is 73% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 73% 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 Prairie Meadows Learning Center?
68.2% of students at Prairie Meadows Learning Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Prairie Meadows Learning Center?
The largest demographic group at Prairie Meadows Learning Center is White at 65.4% of enrollment, in Spicer, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie Meadows Learning Center?
Prairie Meadows Learning Center has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (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.
Is Prairie Meadows Learning Center a good school?
Prairie Meadows Learning Center earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of 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 New London-Spicer School District?
Besides Prairie Meadows Learning Center, New London-Spicer School District also operates Prairie Woods Elementary (578 students), New London-Spicer Middle (454 students), and New London-Spicer Sr. (448 students). See the New London-Spicer 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.