Enrollment
526
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Perham, MN
Prairie Wind Middle
Federal NCES profile for Prairie Wind Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 272823002535
👥 S:T ratio 16
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 42
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Prairie Wind Middle earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Minnesota schools.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Perham · Resource Index
- 22
- Resource Index · Lower
- 21:1
- large classes for Minnesota
- 29.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Prairie Wind Middle has class sizes larger than 86% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie Wind Middle ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Perham, MN.
School address
District: Perham-Dent Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 272823002535 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
+33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie Wind Middle compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Prairie Wind Middle
Prairie Wind Middle is a mid-sized elementary school in Perham, Minnesota, enrolling 526 students.
Class loads run heavy: 21:1 is larger than about 86% of Minnesota schools and 33% above the 15.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 29.5% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 526 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 92% of the 2,334 Minnesota schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 488 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #449, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (80% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 526 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Perham-Dent Public School District also operates Heart of the Lake Elementary (578 students) and Perham Senior High (529 students) alongside Prairie Wind Middle.
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 Wind Middle compares
Prairie Wind Middle on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21:1 | ▲ 33% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.5% | ▼ 31% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 526 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
21:1
Leaner classes than 13% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
526
Bigger than 65% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
29.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 31% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21:1
students per teacher
- 33% above state mean
Top 86% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
23.2%
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
$13,394
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 526 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
22
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.5 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 80.4%
Hispanic or Latino 10.5%
Two or More 5.1%
African American 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.7%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 80.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.9, Prairie Wind Middle is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Perham-Dent Public School District, which includes Prairie Wind Middle.
$13,394
Per student
-12%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.9%
State 60.6%
Federal 11.6%
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 Prairie Wind Middle Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heart of the Lake Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Perham Senior High | Similar size | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Perham Area Learning Center | Smaller | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Prairie Wind Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 578
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 529
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 10/100
- Enrollment
- 38
- Students per teacher
- 38:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar elementary 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 (~526 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Prairie Wind Middle's federal record.
- Compare Prairie Wind Middle against another school. Compare schools
- Perham-Dent 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 Prairie Wind Middle
How many students attend Prairie Wind Middle?
Prairie Wind Middle has 526 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Perham, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Wind Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie Wind Middle is 21:1, which is 33% higher than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 34% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Prairie Wind Middle?
29.5% of students at Prairie Wind Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Prairie Wind Middle?
The largest demographic group at Prairie Wind Middle is White at 80.4% of enrollment, in Perham, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie Wind Middle?
Prairie Wind Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (lower 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 Prairie Wind Middle rank among public schools in Perham?
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie Wind Middle ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Perham, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Perham on the city page.
Is Prairie Wind Middle a good school?
Prairie Wind Middle earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% 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 Perham-Dent Public School District?
Besides Prairie Wind Middle, Perham-Dent Public School District also operates Heart of the Lake Elementary (578 students), Perham Senior High (529 students), and Perham Area Learning Center (38 students). See the Perham-Dent 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.