Enrollment
468
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Pelican Rapids, MN
Viking Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Viking Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 272817001242
👥 S:T ratio 53
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 6
📋 Attendance 21
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Viking Elementary School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 73% of Minnesota schools.
- 28
- Resource Index · Lower
- 11.7:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 47.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 468
- students enrolled
Viking Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 73% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Pelican Rapids Public Schools · Minnesota
NCES ID 272817001242 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
40.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.7:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.0%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Viking Elementary School compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Viking Elementary School
Viking Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, enrolling 468 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 47.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 468 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Among 320 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Minnesota schools statewide, it ranks #267, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (52%) and Hispanic or Latino (36%) (diversity index 60/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 468 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 18.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, Pelican Rapids Public Schools, also runs Pelican Rapids Secondary (374 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 Viking Elementary School compares
Viking Elementary 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 | 11.7:1 | ▼ 26% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.0% | ▲ 10% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 468 | top 29% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.7:1
Leaner classes than 78% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
468
Bigger than 57% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
47.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 10% 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
11.7:1
students per teacher
- 26% below state mean
Top 27% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
31.6%
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
$13,471
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 468 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 51.7%
Hispanic or Latino 35.9%
African American 6.8%
Asian 3.0%
Two or More 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 51.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.8, Viking Elementary School is more mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pelican Rapids Public Schools, which includes Viking Elementary School.
$13,471
Per student
-12%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.3%
State 54.6%
Federal 18.1%
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 Viking Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelican Rapids Secondary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Viking Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 374
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
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 (~468 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Viking Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Viking Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Pelican Rapids Public Schools'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 Viking Elementary School
How many students attend Viking Elementary School?
Viking Elementary School has 468 students enrolled. It is a public school in Pelican Rapids, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Viking Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Viking Elementary School is 11.7:1, which is 26% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 25% 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 Viking Elementary School?
47.0% of students at Viking Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Viking Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Viking Elementary School is White at 51.7% of enrollment, in Pelican Rapids, MN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Viking Elementary School?
Viking Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower 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 Viking Elementary School a good school?
Viking Elementary School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 73% of 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 Pelican Rapids Public Schools?
Besides Viking Elementary School, Pelican Rapids Public Schools also operates Pelican Rapids Secondary (374 students). See the Pelican Rapids Public Schools 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.