Enrollment
253
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Verndale, MN
Verndale Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Verndale Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 274092001712
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 36
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Verndale Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 41.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 253
- students enrolled
Verndale Elementary has class sizes smaller than 74% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Verndale Public School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 274092001712 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.8%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Verndale Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Verndale Elementary
Verndale Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Verndale, Minnesota, enrolling 253 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 41.8% lands close to the Minnesota typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 253 students, its enrollment sits close to the Minnesota median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 268 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #92.
Its student body is predominantly White (95% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 253 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district, Verndale Public School District, also runs Verndale Secondary (231 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 Verndale Elementary compares
Verndale 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 | 11.5:1 | ▼ 27% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.8% | ▼ 2% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 253 | top 51% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
253
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
41.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 27% below state mean
Top 26% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
25.7%
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
$12,547
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 253 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.6 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 94.5%
Two or More 2.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: White at 94.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 10.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 10.6, Verndale Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Verndale Public School District, which includes Verndale Elementary.
$12,547
Per student
-18%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.8%
State 77.8%
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 Verndale Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verndale Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Verndale Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 231
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
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 (~253 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Verndale Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Verndale Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Verndale Public 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 Verndale Elementary
How many students attend Verndale Elementary?
Verndale Elementary has 253 students enrolled. It is a public school in Verndale, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Verndale Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Verndale Elementary is 11.5:1, which is 27% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 27% 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 Verndale Elementary?
41.8% of students at Verndale Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Verndale Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Verndale Elementary is White at 94.5% of enrollment, in Verndale, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Verndale Elementary?
Verndale Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical 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).
Is Verndale Elementary a good school?
Verndale Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Minnesota schools. It is also less 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 Verndale Public School District?
Besides Verndale Elementary, Verndale Public School District also operates Verndale Secondary (231 students). See the Verndale Public 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.