Enrollment
357
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Rice, MN
Rice Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Rice Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 273288001433
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 11
📋 Attendance 41
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Rice Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.8:1
- students per teacher
- 26.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 357
- students enrolled
Rice Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools · Minnesota
NCES ID 273288001433 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
26.3%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rice Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Rice Elementary
Rice Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Rice, Minnesota, enrolling 357 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 26.3% of students eligible for free meals.
With 357 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.
Among 395 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #283, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 16/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 446 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools also operates Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High (1,319 students) and Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School (1,055 students) alongside Rice 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 Rice Elementary compares
Rice 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 | 12.8:1 | ▼ 19% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 26.3% | ▼ 39% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 357 | top 41% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
357
Bigger than 41% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
26.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 39% 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
12.8:1
students per teacher
- 19% below state mean
Top 35% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
23.8%
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
$13,440
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
Counselors0.8 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.2 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
White 91.6%
Two or More 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
African American 0.3%
Largest group: White at 91.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.9, Rice Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools, which includes Rice Elementary.
$13,440
Per student
-12%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.6%
State 69.8%
Federal 8.6%
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 Rice Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Mississippi Heights Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Pleasantview Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hillside Early Childhood Center | Smaller | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Rice Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,319
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 1,055
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 808
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 734
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 58
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 30/100
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 (~357 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Rice Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Rice Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools'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 Rice Elementary
How many students attend Rice Elementary?
Rice Elementary has 357 students enrolled. It is a public school in Rice, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rice Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Rice Elementary is 12.8:1, which is 19% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 18% 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 Rice Elementary?
26.3% of students at Rice Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rice Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Rice Elementary is White at 91.6% of enrollment, in Rice, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rice Elementary?
Rice Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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).
Is Rice Elementary a good school?
Rice Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. 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 Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools?
Besides Rice Elementary, Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools also operates Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High (1,319 students), Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School (1,055 students), and Mississippi Heights Elementary (808 students). See the Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools 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.