Enrollment
26
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Buffalo, MN
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions
Federal NCES profile for Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 270042005528
👥 S:T ratio 48
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 4
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- #3 of 4
- high schools in Buffalo · Resource Index
- 23
- Resource Index · Lower
- 13:1
- students per teacher
- 22.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions ranks #3 of 4 high schools in Buffalo, MN.
School address
District: Southwest Metro Intermediate 288 · Minnesota
NCES ID 270042005528 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.2%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions is a small high school in Buffalo, Minnesota, enrolling 26 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 22.2% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 26 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 39 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #37, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 38.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Southwest Metro Intermediate 288 also operates Swmetro Online Learning (115 students) and Swmetro Level 4 Programs (71 students) alongside Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions.
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 Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions compares
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13:1 | ▼ 18% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.2% | ▼ 48% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 26 | top 87% | - | - |
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)
Economic need
22.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 48% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 37% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
38.5%
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.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 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%
African American 7.7%
Hispanic or Latino 3.8%
Largest group: White at 88.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.9, Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
AP program Not offered
How Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swmetro Online Learning | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Swmetro Level 4 Programs | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Swmetro Shakopee Special Ed | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Swmetro Alc | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Swmetro Lakeside Academy | Similar size | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 115
- Students per teacher
- 9.6:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 71
- Students per teacher
- 2.4:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 63
- Students per teacher
- 7:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 52
- Students per teacher
- 2.6:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 23
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
Similar high 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 (~26 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions's federal record.
- Compare Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions against another school. Compare schools
- Southwest Metro Intermediate 288'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 Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions
How many students attend Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions?
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions has 26 students enrolled. It is a high school in Buffalo, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions?
The student-teacher ratio at Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions is 13:1, which is 18% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 17% 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 Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions?
22.2% of students at Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions?
The largest demographic group at Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions is White at 88.5% of enrollment, in Buffalo, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions?
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions rank among high schools in Buffalo?
By Resource Investment Index, Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions ranks #3 of 4 high schools in Buffalo, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Buffalo on the city page.
Is Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions a good school?
Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota 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 Southwest Metro Intermediate 288?
Besides Swmetro Buffalo-Transitions, Southwest Metro Intermediate 288 also operates Swmetro Online Learning (115 students), Swmetro Level 4 Programs (71 students), and Swmetro Shakopee Special Ed (63 students). See the Southwest Metro Intermediate 288 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.