Enrollment
1,365
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Missoula, MT
Sentinel High School
Federal NCES profile for Sentinel High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 301854000564
👥 S:T ratio 35
📚 AP courses 85
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 32
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sentinel High School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Montana schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Montana.
- #3 of 3
- high schools in Missoula · Resource Index
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.3:1
- large classes for Montana
- 1,365
- students enrolled
Sentinel High School has class sizes larger than 88% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Sentinel High School ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Missoula, MT.
School address
District: Missoula H S · Montana
NCES ID 301854000564 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
84.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+38% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sentinel High School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sentinel High School
Sentinel High School is a large high school in Missoula, Montana, enrolling 1,365 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.3:1 is larger than about 88% of Montana schools and 38% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Montana, bigger than 99% of state schools at 1,365 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 17 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 341 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 55.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Missoula H S spends $13,212 per pupil, 31% below the Montana average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Among Missoula's high schools, it stands alongside Hellgate High School (1,262 students): Sentinel High School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.3:1 vs 13.7:1).
Missoula H S also operates Hellgate High School (1,262 students) and Big Sky High School (1,148 students) alongside Sentinel High School.
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 Sentinel High School compares
Sentinel High School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▲ 38% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 1,365 | top 1% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,365
Bigger than 95% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
- 38% above state mean
Top 88% in Montana - lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
55.6%
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
$13,212
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,282
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 341 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
46
in-school suspensions + 34 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.9 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 87.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 4.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.2%
Asian 1.3%
African American 1.2%
Two or More 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 87.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.3, Sentinel High School is about as mixed as the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
AP courses offered 17
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Missoula H S, which includes Sentinel High School.
$13,212
Per student
-31%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 47.8%
State 38.4%
Federal 13.8%
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 Sentinel High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hellgate High School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Big Sky High School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Seeley-Swan High School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sentinel High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,262
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 1,148
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 85
- Students per teacher
- 9.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar high schools in Missoula
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,365 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sentinel High School's federal record.
- Compare Sentinel High School against another school. Compare schools
- Missoula H S'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 Sentinel High School
How many students attend Sentinel High School?
Sentinel High School has 1,365 students enrolled. It is a high school in Missoula, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sentinel High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sentinel High School is 16.3:1, which is 38% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sentinel High School?
The largest demographic group at Sentinel High School is White at 87.3% of enrollment, in Missoula, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sentinel High School?
Sentinel High School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Sentinel High School rank among high schools in Missoula?
By Resource Investment Index, Sentinel High School ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Missoula, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Missoula on the city page.
Is Sentinel High School a good school?
Sentinel High School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Montana schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Montana. 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 Missoula H S?
Besides Sentinel High School, Missoula H S also operates Hellgate High School (1,262 students), Big Sky High School (1,148 students), and Seeley-Swan High School (85 students). See the Missoula H S 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.