Enrollment
74
North Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sawyer, ND
Sawyer Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Sawyer Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 72/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 381647000569
👥 S:T ratio 75
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 85
📋 Attendance 97
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sawyer Elementary School earns 72/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of North Dakota schools.
- 72
- Resource Index · Higher
- 6.2:1
- small classes for North Dakota
- 33.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 74
- students enrolled
Sawyer Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 93% of North Dakota schools. Computed live against every North Dakota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Sawyer 16 · North Dakota
NCES ID 381647000569 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6.2:1
vs 11.8:1 North Dakota avg
-47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.9%
vs 28.2% North Dakota avg
+20% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sawyer Elementary School compares with North Dakota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sawyer Elementary School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Sawyer Elementary School sits near the smaller end of the North Dakota enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Higher need paired with broader reported resources
Sawyer Elementary School serves a higher-need student population than most North Dakota campuses while its Resource Investment Index still lands in the state's upper tier. That combination is more informative than either figure alone: reported staffing and program capacity are comparatively strong despite a funding context that often carries greater service demands. It does not prove equal outcomes, but it identifies a campus whose federal resource signals are not simply tracking a lower-need intake.
Attendance is a relative strength
1.4% of Sawyer Elementary School students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 civil-rights collection. On its face, that is a comparatively low historical rate, though this page does not treat it as a current national benchmark or guarantee current-year performance. Here, attendance is a more distinctive signal than the presence or absence of any single specialist role.
Sawyer Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sawyer, North Dakota, enrolling 74 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 6.2:1, Sawyer Elementary School is leaner than roughly 93% of North Dakota schools and 47% under the state's 11.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 33.9% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 74 puts it in the smaller third of North Dakota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 498 North Dakota schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 66 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need North Dakota schools statewide, it ranks #2, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 74 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 1.4% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Sawyer 16 spends $31,789 per pupil, 72% above the North Dakota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district, Sawyer 16, also runs Sawyer High School (20 students).
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 Sawyer Elementary School compares
Sawyer Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against North Dakota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs North Dakota | North Dakota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6.2:1 | ▼ 47% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.9% | ▲ 20% | 28.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 74 | top 75% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
6.2:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
74
Bigger than 8% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 20% above the North Dakota average of 28.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
6.2:1
students per teacher
- 47% below state mean
Top 7% in North Dakota - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
1.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$31,789
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Dakota avg of $18,450
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 74 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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.
Student demographics
White 87.8%
Hispanic or Latino 5.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 4.1%
Two or More 2.7%
Largest group: White at 87.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.4, Sawyer Elementary School is less mixed than the North Dakota school average of 29.7.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sawyer 16, which includes Sawyer Elementary School.
$31,789
Per student
+72%
vs North Dakota
Avg $18,450
+92%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 37.8%
State 53.0%
Federal 9.2%
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 Sawyer Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawyer High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sawyer Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 20
- Students per teacher
- 5:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Dakota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~74 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~6.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sawyer Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Sawyer Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Sawyer 16'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 Sawyer Elementary School
How many students attend Sawyer Elementary School?
Sawyer Elementary School has 74 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sawyer, ND.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sawyer Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sawyer Elementary School is 6.2:1, which is 47% lower than the North Dakota average of 11.8:1 and 61% 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 Sawyer Elementary School?
33.9% of students at Sawyer Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Dakota average of 28.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sawyer Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Sawyer Elementary School is White at 87.8% of enrollment, in Sawyer, ND.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sawyer Elementary School?
Sawyer Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 72/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
What other schools are in Sawyer 16?
Besides Sawyer Elementary School, Sawyer 16 also operates Sawyer High School (20 students). See the Sawyer 16 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 July 2026.