Enrollment
60
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 273351001636
Special Education Facilities — Waite Park, MN
Federal NCES profile for Special Education Facilities, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
👥 Class size 76
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 88
📋 Attendance 46
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: St. Cloud Public School District · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-62% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.0%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Special Education Facilities compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Special Education Facilities reports 60 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 10.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 62% below the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 62% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 55.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 29% above the Minnesota average and 6% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 60 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. Cloud Public School District spends $20,297 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 18.7% from local sources (property taxes), 61.7% from the state, and 19.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Special Education Facilities compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6:1 | ▼ 62% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.0% | ▲ 29% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 60 | top 22% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
55.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 29% 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
6:1
students per teacher
— 62% below state mean
Top 8% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
21.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$20,297
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $21,113
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 60 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.
Overview
Enrollment 60 Top 22% in Minnesota — larger than 78% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 10.0
Students per teacher 6:1 -62% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 55.0% +29% vs state
NCES ID 273351001636
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 60:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Cloud Public School District, which includes Special Education Facilities.
$20,297
Per student
-4%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 18.7%
State 61.7%
Federal 19.7%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,561
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,264
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 878
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 831
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 720
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
Similar other schools in Waite Park
3 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Special Education Facilities
How many students attend Special Education Facilities?
Special Education Facilities has 60 students enrolled. It is a other school in WAITE PARK, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Special Education Facilities?
The student-teacher ratio at Special Education Facilities is 6:1, which is 62% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 62% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Special Education Facilities?
55.0% of students at Special Education Facilities are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Special Education Facilities?
Special Education Facilities has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.