Enrollment
95
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Tower, MN
Tower-Soudan Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Tower-Soudan Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270000801684
👥 S:T ratio 62
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 34
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Tower-Soudan Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of Minnesota schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9.5:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 60.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 95
- students enrolled
Tower-Soudan Elementary has class sizes smaller than 83% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: St. Louis County School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 270000801684 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.6%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tower-Soudan Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Tower-Soudan Elementary
Tower-Soudan Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Tower, Minnesota, enrolling 95 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 60.6% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 95 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 145 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #73.
Its student body is led by White (47%) and American Indian / Alaska Native (32%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 66/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
St. Louis County School District also operates South Ridge Elementary (303 students) and Cherry Elementary (297 students) alongside Tower-Soudan Elementary.
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 Tower-Soudan Elementary compares
Tower-Soudan Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.5:1 | ▼ 40% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.6% | ▲ 42% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 95 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.5:1
Leaner classes than 91% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
95
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
60.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 42% 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
9.5:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 17% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
26.3%
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
$17,445
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting 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.
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 47.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 31.6%
Two or More 12.6%
Hispanic or Latino 4.2%
Asian 4.2%
Largest group: White at 47.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 65.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 65.6, Tower-Soudan Elementary is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Louis County School District, which includes Tower-Soudan Elementary.
$17,445
Per student
+14%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.9%
State 58.7%
Federal 11.4%
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 Tower-Soudan Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Ridge Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cherry Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cherry Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Ridge Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Woods Secondary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Tower-Soudan Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 303
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 297
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 273
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 258
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 245
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
Similar other 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 (~95 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Tower-Soudan Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Tower-Soudan Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- St. Louis County School District'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 Tower-Soudan Elementary
How many students attend Tower-Soudan Elementary?
Tower-Soudan Elementary has 95 students enrolled. It is a public school in Tower, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tower-Soudan Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Tower-Soudan Elementary is 9.5:1, which is 40% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 39% 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 Tower-Soudan Elementary?
60.6% of students at Tower-Soudan Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tower-Soudan Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Tower-Soudan Elementary is White at 47.4% of enrollment, in Tower, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tower-Soudan Elementary?
Tower-Soudan Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Tower-Soudan Elementary a good school?
Tower-Soudan Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of Minnesota schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota 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 St. Louis County School District?
Besides Tower-Soudan Elementary, St. Louis County School District also operates South Ridge Elementary (303 students), Cherry Elementary (297 students), and Cherry Secondary (273 students). See the St. Louis County School District 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.