Enrollment
23
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Fairmont, MN
Southern Plains Bridges
Federal NCES profile for Southern Plains Bridges, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270004604627
👥 S:T ratio 77
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southern Plains Bridges earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Minnesota schools.
- #4 of 6
- schools in Fairmont · Resource Index
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 5.8:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 88.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Southern Plains Bridges has class sizes smaller than 93% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Southern Plains Bridges ranks #4 of 6 schools in Fairmont, MN.
School address
District: Southern Plains Education Coop. · Minnesota
NCES ID 270004604627 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
4.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
5.8:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-63% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.5%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+107% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southern Plains Bridges compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southern Plains Bridges
Southern Plains Bridges is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Fairmont, Minnesota, enrolling 23 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 5.8:1, Southern Plains Bridges is leaner than roughly 93% of Minnesota schools and 63% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 88.5% of students qualify for free meals, 107% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 23 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 30 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #5.
Its student body is led by White (65%) and Two or More (17%) (diversity index 53/100).
Its district draws 20.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 7 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 23 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Southern Plains Education Coop. also operates Southern Plains Area Learning Cntr. (47 students) and Southern Plains Education Coop. (19 students) alongside Southern Plains Bridges.
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 Southern Plains Bridges compares
Southern Plains Bridges on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 5.8:1 | ▼ 63% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 88.5% | ▲ 107% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 23 | top 88% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
5.8:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
23
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
88.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 107% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
5.8:1
students per teacher
- 63% below state mean
Top 7% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.4 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 65.2%
Two or More 17.4%
Hispanic or Latino 13.0%
African American 4.3%
Largest group: White at 65.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.6, Southern Plains Bridges is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
How Southern Plains Bridges Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Plains Area Learning Cntr. | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southern Plains Education Coop. | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Positive Approach to Learning | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southern Plains Bridges's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 47
- Students per teacher
- 9.4:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
- Enrollment
- 19
- Students per teacher
- 6.3:1
- Resource Index
- 75/100
- Enrollment
- 5
- Students per teacher
- 5:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
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 (~23 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~5.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southern Plains Bridges's federal record.
- Compare Southern Plains Bridges against another school. Compare schools
- Southern Plains Education Coop.'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 Southern Plains Bridges
How many students attend Southern Plains Bridges?
Southern Plains Bridges has 23 students enrolled. It is a special-education school in Fairmont, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southern Plains Bridges?
The student-teacher ratio at Southern Plains Bridges is 5.8:1, which is 63% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 63% 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 Southern Plains Bridges?
88.5% of students at Southern Plains Bridges are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southern Plains Bridges?
The largest demographic group at Southern Plains Bridges is White at 65.2% of enrollment, in Fairmont, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southern Plains Bridges?
Southern Plains Bridges has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Southern Plains Bridges rank among schools in Fairmont?
By Resource Investment Index, Southern Plains Bridges ranks #4 of 6 schools in Fairmont, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Fairmont on the city page.
Is Southern Plains Bridges a good school?
Southern Plains Bridges earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% 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 Southern Plains Education Coop.?
Besides Southern Plains Bridges, Southern Plains Education Coop. also operates Southern Plains Area Learning Cntr. (47 students), Southern Plains Education Coop. (19 students), and Positive Approach to Learning (5 students). See the Southern Plains Education Coop. 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.