Enrollment
736
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 220033000255
A. a. Nelson Elementary School — Lake Charles, LA
Federal NCES profile for A. a. Nelson Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 31
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 26
📋 Attendance 96
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: Calcasieu Parish · Louisiana
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.2:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.9%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How A. a. Nelson Elementary School compares with Louisiana 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
A. a. Nelson Elementary School reports 736 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 48.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 22% below the Louisiana average and 6% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 368 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 1.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Calcasieu Parish spends $22,016 per pupil district-wide, above the Louisiana average of $17,870 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.6% from local sources (property taxes), 27.7% from the state, and 17.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), 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 A. a. Nelson Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.2:1 | ▼ 8% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.9% | ▼ 22% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 736 | top 85% | — | — |
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
48.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 22% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.2:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 46% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
1.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$22,016
per pupil, district-wide
— above Louisiana avg of $17,870
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 368 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 736 Top 85% in Louisiana — larger than 15% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 17.2:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 48.9% -22% vs state
NCES ID 220033000255
Student demographics
White 41.3%
African American 34.0%
Asian 13.3%
Hispanic or Latino 6.8%
Two or More 4.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 41.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 368:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 1.6%
In-school suspensions 31
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Calcasieu Parish, which includes A. a. Nelson Elementary School.
$22,016
Per student
+23%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.6%
State 27.7%
Federal 17.7%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,911
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,908
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,141
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,011
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,007
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
Similar other schools in Lake Charles
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Moss Bluff Elementary School
Standard public school
969 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
Lake Charles Charter Academy
Standard public school
951 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy
Standard public school
852 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
St. John Elementary School
Standard public school
670 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Gillis Elementary School
Standard public school
650 students 15:1 students per teacher
Prien Lake Elementary School
Standard public school
639 students 16:1 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 A. a. Nelson Elementary School
How many students attend A. a. Nelson Elementary School?
A. a. Nelson Elementary School has 736 students enrolled. It is a other school in Lake Charles, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at A. a. Nelson Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at A. a. Nelson Elementary School is 17.2:1, which is 8% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 8% higher 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 A. a. Nelson Elementary School?
48.9% of students at A. a. Nelson Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of A. a. Nelson Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at A. a. Nelson Elementary School is White at 41.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lake Charles, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for A. a. Nelson Elementary School?
A. a. Nelson Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) 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.