Enrollment
125
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Saint Paul, MN
The Journey School
Federal NCES profile for The Journey School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 270043805258Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
The Journey School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- #18 of 26
- elementary schools in Saint Paul · Resource Index
- 27
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.6:1
- students per teacher
- 75.4%
- free-lunch eligible
The Journey School has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, The Journey School ranks #18 of 26 elementary schools in Saint Paul, MN.
School address
District: The Journey School · Minnesota
NCES ID 270043805258 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.6:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
75.4%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+76% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How The Journey School compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at The Journey School
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
The Journey School is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Minnesota schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Higher need meets a leaner resource profile
The Journey School combines above-typical economic need with a Resource Investment Index in the lower part of the Minnesota distribution. This is the page's clearest equity tension: the population indicated by free-meal eligibility may require more support, while the reported staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance inputs produce a comparatively lean composite. The index is not an academic grade, but the mismatch is a concrete reason to inspect each component closely.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
The Journey School's 34.4% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
The Journey School is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter elementary school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, enrolling 125 students.
At 15.6:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Minnesota median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 75.4% of students qualify for free meals, 76% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 125 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 91 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #73, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (65%) and Two or More (15%) (diversity index 54/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding The Journey School spends $20,269 per pupil, 33% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 16.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, The Journey School, also runs The Journey School Middle (12 students).
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 The Journey School compares
The Journey School on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.6:1 | ▼ 1% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 75.4% | ▲ 76% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 125 | top 66% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.6:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
125
Bigger than 12% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
75.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 76% 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
15.6:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 59% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 41% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
34.4%
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.
Funding equity
$20,269
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
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.
Student demographics
African American 64.8%
Two or More 15.2%
Hispanic or Latino 12.0%
Asian 3.2%
White 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.4%
Largest group: African American at 64.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.0, The Journey School is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for The Journey School, which includes The Journey School.
$20,269
Per student
+33%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 7.4%
State 75.7%
Federal 16.9%
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 The Journey School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Journey School Middle | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to The Journey School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 12
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
Similar elementary 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 (~125 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on The Journey School's federal record.
- Compare The Journey School against another school. Compare schools
- The Journey School'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 The Journey School
How many students attend The Journey School?
The Journey School has 125 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Saint Paul, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Journey School?
The student-teacher ratio at The Journey School is 15.6:1, which is 1% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 1% 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 The Journey School?
75.4% of students at The Journey School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of The Journey School?
The largest demographic group at The Journey School is African American at 64.8% of enrollment, in Saint Paul, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for The Journey School?
The Journey School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does The Journey School rank among elementary schools in Saint Paul?
By Resource Investment Index, The Journey School ranks #18 of 26 elementary schools in Saint Paul, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Saint Paul on the city page.
What other schools are in The Journey School?
Besides The Journey School, The Journey School also operates The Journey School Middle (12 students). See the The Journey School 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 July 2026.