Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bismarck, ND

Sunrise Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Sunrise Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 380001400850
0/100100/10050/100
👥 S:T ratio
44
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
11
📋 Attendance
77
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Sunrise Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of North Dakota schools.

#9 of 19
elementary schools in Bismarck · Resource Index
50
Resource Index · Higher
13.9:1
large classes for North Dakota
8.8%
free-lunch eligible

Sunrise Elementary School has class sizes larger than 74% of North Dakota schools. Computed live against every North Dakota school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Sunrise Elementary School ranks #9 of 19 elementary schools in Bismarck, ND.

School address

Enrollment

445

North Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

32.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.9:1

vs 11.8:1 North Dakota avg

+18% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

8.8%

vs 28.2% North Dakota avg

-69% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Sunrise Elementary School compares with North Dakota and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Sunrise Elementary School

Sunrise Elementary School is a lower-poverty, large elementary school in Bismarck, North Dakota, enrolling 445 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13.9:1 puts it in the larger third of North Dakota schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 8.8% free-meal eligibility runs 69% below the North Dakota average.

Enrollment of 445 puts it in the larger third of North Dakota schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 498 scored North Dakota schools.

Against 65 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #14.

Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 31/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 445 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance holds up well here: only 9.4% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

The surrounding Bismarck 1 spends $14,037 per pupil, 24% below the North Dakota average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 16.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Bismarck's elementary schools, it stands alongside Victor Solheim Elementary School (588 students): Sunrise Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.9:1 vs 15.5:1).

Bismarck 1 also operates Legacy High School (1,419 students) and Century High School (1,406 students) alongside Sunrise Elementary 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 Sunrise Elementary School compares

Sunrise 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 13.9:1 ▲ 18% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 8.8% ▼ 69% 28.2% 51.7%
Enrollment 445 top 15% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.9:1
Leaner classes than 58% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
445
Bigger than 54% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
8.8%
free-lunch eligible - 69% below the North Dakota average of 28.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher - 18% above state mean
Top 74% in North Dakota - lower ratio than 26% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
9.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$14,037
per pupil, district-wide - below North Dakota avg of $18,450
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 445 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 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 82.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 5.8%
Two or More 5.6%
Hispanic or Latino 2.7%
African American 2.5%
Asian 0.9%

Largest group: White at 82.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 31.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 31.1, Sunrise Elementary School is about as mixed as the North Dakota school average of 29.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bismarck 1, which includes Sunrise Elementary School.

$14,037
Per student
-24%
vs North Dakota
Avg $18,450
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.0%
State 55.3%
Federal 16.7%

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.

How Sunrise Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Legacy High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Century High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Bismarck High School Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Horizon Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Simle Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Sunrise Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Bismarck 1 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Bismarck

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Sunrise Elementary School's federal record.

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 Sunrise Elementary School

How many students attend Sunrise Elementary School?

Sunrise Elementary School has 445 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bismarck, ND.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunrise Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Sunrise Elementary School is 13.9:1, which is 18% higher than the North Dakota average of 11.8:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sunrise Elementary School?

8.8% of students at Sunrise Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Dakota average of 28.2%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunrise Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Sunrise Elementary School is White at 82.5% of enrollment, in Bismarck, ND.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunrise Elementary School?

Sunrise Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (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 Sunrise Elementary School rank among elementary schools in Bismarck?

By Resource Investment Index, Sunrise Elementary School ranks #9 of 19 elementary schools in Bismarck, ND. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Bismarck on the city page.

Is Sunrise Elementary School a good school?

Sunrise Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of North Dakota 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 Bismarck 1?

Besides Sunrise Elementary School, Bismarck 1 also operates Legacy High School (1,419 students), Century High School (1,406 students), and Bismarck High School (1,367 students). See the Bismarck 1 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.