Enrollment
33
Montana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Willow Creek, MT
Willow Creek School
Federal NCES profile for Willow Creek School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 302814000785
👥 S:T ratio 74
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 24
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Willow Creek School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Montana schools.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Willow Creek · Resource Index
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 6.6:1
- small classes for Montana
- 33
- students enrolled
Willow Creek School has class sizes smaller than 87% of Montana schools. Computed live against every Montana school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Willow Creek School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Willow Creek, MT.
School address
District: Willow Creek Elem · Montana
NCES ID 302814000785 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6.6:1
vs 11.8:1 Montana avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Willow Creek School compares with Montana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Willow Creek School
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational strength
Willow Creek School's enrollment is not at an extreme, but its student-teacher ratio is: it reports fewer students per teacher than most Montana schools. This is the most distinctive scale-adjusted signal in the federal record. It should be read as staffing capacity, not class size or an academic outcome; the page separately reports attendance, program access, demographics, and district finance so a single favorable ratio does not become an unsupported overall rating.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Willow Creek School's 30.3% 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.
Willow Creek School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Willow Creek, Montana, enrolling 33 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 6.6:1, Willow Creek School is leaner than roughly 87% of Montana schools and 44% under the state's 11.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 33 puts it in the smaller third of Montana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 826 scored Montana schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (97% of enrollment) (diversity index 6/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district, Willow Creek Elem, also runs Willow Creek 7-8 (9 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 Willow Creek School compares
Willow Creek School on the metrics families compare, against Montana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Montana | Montana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6.6:1 | ▼ 44% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 33 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
6.6:1
Leaner classes than 97% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
33
Bigger than 4% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
6.6:1
students per teacher
- 44% below state mean
Top 13% in Montana - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
30.3%
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
$19,763
per pupil, district-wide
- below Montana avg of $19,859
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.
Student demographics
White 97.0%
Hispanic or Latino 3.0%
Largest group: White at 97.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.8, Willow Creek School is less mixed than the Montana school average of 23.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Willow Creek Elem, which includes Willow Creek School.
$19,763
Per student
0%
vs Montana
Avg $19,859
+12%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 40.3%
State 48.1%
Federal 11.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Willow Creek School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Creek 7-8 | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Willow Creek School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 9
- Students per teacher
- 9:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Montana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~33 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~6.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Willow Creek School's federal record.
- Compare Willow Creek School against another school. Compare schools
- Willow Creek Elem'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 Willow Creek School
How many students attend Willow Creek School?
Willow Creek School has 33 students enrolled. It is a public school in Willow Creek, MT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Willow Creek School?
The student-teacher ratio at Willow Creek School is 6.6:1, which is 44% lower than the Montana average of 11.8:1 and 58% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Willow Creek School?
The largest demographic group at Willow Creek School is White at 97.0% of enrollment, in Willow Creek, MT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Willow Creek School?
Willow Creek School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical 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 Willow Creek School rank among public schools in Willow Creek?
By Resource Investment Index, Willow Creek School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Willow Creek, MT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking.
What other schools are in Willow Creek Elem?
Besides Willow Creek School, Willow Creek Elem also operates Willow Creek 7-8 (9 students). See the Willow Creek Elem 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.