Enrollment
476
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Aitkin, MN
Rippleside Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Rippleside Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270276000059
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 5
📋 Attendance 89
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Rippleside Elementary earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- #1 of 3
- schools in Aitkin · Resource Index
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.5:1
- students per teacher
- 43.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Rippleside Elementary has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Rippleside Elementary ranks #1 of 3 schools in Aitkin, MN.
School address
District: Aitkin Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 270276000059 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.8%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rippleside Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Rippleside Elementary
Rippleside Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Aitkin, Minnesota, enrolling 476 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 43.8% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 476 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 339 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #40.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 15/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 476 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 4.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 16.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Aitkin Public School District also operates Aitkin Secondary School (509 students) and Aitkin Alternative Learning Program (4 students) alongside Rippleside 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 Rippleside Elementary compares
Rippleside 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 | 12.5:1 | ▼ 21% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.8% | ▲ 2% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 476 | top 28% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
476
Bigger than 59% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
43.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% 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
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 33% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
4.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$13,786
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 476 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.6 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 92.0%
Two or More 3.8%
Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.3%
Asian 0.6%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 92.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.2, Rippleside Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Aitkin Public School District, which includes Rippleside Elementary.
$13,786
Per student
-10%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.8%
State 64.5%
Federal 16.6%
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 Rippleside Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aitkin Secondary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Aitkin Alternative Learning Program | Smaller | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Rippleside Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 509
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 4
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 15/100
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 (~476 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Rippleside Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Rippleside Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Aitkin 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 Rippleside Elementary
How many students attend Rippleside Elementary?
Rippleside Elementary has 476 students enrolled. It is a public school in Aitkin, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rippleside Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Rippleside Elementary is 12.5:1, which is 21% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 20% 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 Rippleside Elementary?
43.8% of students at Rippleside Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rippleside Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Rippleside Elementary is White at 92.0% of enrollment, in Aitkin, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rippleside Elementary?
Rippleside Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher 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 Rippleside Elementary rank among schools in Aitkin?
By Resource Investment Index, Rippleside Elementary ranks #1 of 3 schools in Aitkin, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Aitkin on the city page.
Is Rippleside Elementary a good school?
Rippleside Elementary earns 53/100 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 Aitkin Public School District?
Besides Rippleside Elementary, Aitkin Public School District also operates Aitkin Secondary School (509 students) and Aitkin Alternative Learning Program (4 students). See the Aitkin 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.