Enrollment
99
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 270002504603
West Education Center Alternative — Minnetonka, MN
Federal NCES profile for West Education Center Alternative, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 66
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Intermediate School District 287 · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.3%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How West Education Center Alternative compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
West Education Center Alternative reports 99 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 5.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 63.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% above the Minnesota average and 22% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 168 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 100.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How West Education Center Alternative compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▼ 1% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.3% | ▲ 48% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 99 | top 30% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
63.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% 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
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 62% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 38% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
100.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Per 168 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
Enrollment 99 Top 30% in Minnesota — larger than 70% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 5.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 63.3% +48% vs state
NCES ID 270002504603
Student demographics
African American 49.5%
Two or More 16.2%
White 15.2%
Hispanic or Latino 13.1%
Asian 5.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
Largest group: African American at 49.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.6
Students per counselor 168:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 100.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 274
- Students per teacher
- 3.9:1
- Enrollment
- 226
- Students per teacher
- 2.7:1
- Enrollment
- 73
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 48
- Students per teacher
- 7.2:1
- Enrollment
- 37
- Students per teacher
- 8:1
Similar other schools in Minnetonka
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Hopkins North Junior High
Standard public school
866 students 17.8:1 students per teacher
Eagle Ridge Academy Charter School
Standard public school
702 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Hopkins West Junior High
Standard public school
574 students 16:1 students per teacher
L.H. Tanglen Elementary
Standard public school
521 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Glen Lake Elementary
Standard public school
465 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Gatewood Elementary
Standard public school
351 students 12.1:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about West Education Center Alternative
How many students attend West Education Center Alternative?
West Education Center Alternative has 99 students enrolled. It is a other school in MINNETONKA, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at West Education Center Alternative?
The student-teacher ratio at West Education Center Alternative is 15.8:1, which is 1% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at West Education Center Alternative?
63.3% of students at West Education Center Alternative are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of West Education Center Alternative?
The largest demographic group at West Education Center Alternative is African American at 49.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in MINNETONKA, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for West Education Center Alternative?
West Education Center Alternative has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.