Enrollment
26
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Sunburst, MT
Sunburst 7 - 8
Federal NCES profile for Sunburst 7 - 8, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 65/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 302532001069
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 91
📋 Attendance 91
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sunburst 7 - 8 earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median.
- #1 of 5
- public schools in Sunburst · Resource Index
- 65
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13:1
- students per teacher
- 26
- students enrolled
Sunburst 7 - 8 has class sizes near the Montana median. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Sunburst 7 - 8 ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Sunburst, MT.
School address
District: Sunburst K-12 Schools · Montana
NCES ID 302532001069 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sunburst 7 - 8 compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sunburst 7 - 8
Sunburst 7 - 8 is a mid-sized middle school in Sunburst, Montana, enrolling 26 students.
At 13:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Montana median, within a few percentage points of the 11.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Enrollment of 26 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 97% of the 826 Montana schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 43 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 3.8% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Sunburst K-12 Schools spends $23,602 per pupil, 22% above the Montana average, a better-resourced district than most.
Sunburst K-12 Schools also operates Sunburst Elementary (57 students) and Sunburst High School (40 students) alongside Sunburst 7 - 8.
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 Sunburst 7 - 8 compares
Sunburst 7 - 8 on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13:1 | ▲ 10% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 26 | top 75% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
26
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
- 10% above state mean
Top 58% in Montana - lower ratio than 42% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
3.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$23,602
per pupil, district-wide
- above Montana avg of $19,282
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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
- 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 88.5%
Hispanic or Latino 3.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.8%
Two or More 3.8%
Largest group: White at 88.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 21.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 21.2, Sunburst 7 - 8 is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sunburst K-12 Schools, which includes Sunburst 7 - 8.
$23,602
Per student
+22%
vs Montana
Avg $19,282
+42%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 55.9%
State 33.7%
Federal 10.4%
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 Sunburst 7 - 8 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunburst Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sunburst High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sunburst 7 - 8's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 57
- Students per teacher
- 7.1:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
- Enrollment
- 40
- Students per teacher
- 5.7:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
Similar middle 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 (~26 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sunburst 7 - 8's federal record.
- Compare Sunburst 7 - 8 against another school. Compare schools
- Sunburst K-12 Schools'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 Sunburst 7 - 8
How many students attend Sunburst 7 - 8?
Sunburst 7 - 8 has 26 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Sunburst, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunburst 7 - 8?
The student-teacher ratio at Sunburst 7 - 8 is 13:1, which is 10% higher than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 17% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunburst 7 - 8?
The largest demographic group at Sunburst 7 - 8 is White at 88.5% of enrollment, in Sunburst, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunburst 7 - 8?
Sunburst 7 - 8 has a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (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 Sunburst 7 - 8 rank among public schools in Sunburst?
By Resource Investment Index, Sunburst 7 - 8 ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Sunburst, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Sunburst on the city page.
Is Sunburst 7 - 8 a good school?
Sunburst 7 - 8 earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Montana median. 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 Sunburst K-12 Schools?
Besides Sunburst 7 - 8, Sunburst K-12 Schools also operates Sunburst Elementary (57 students) and Sunburst High School (40 students). See the Sunburst K-12 Schools 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.