Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bethlehem, PA

Asa Packer El Sch

Federal NCES profile for Asa Packer El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420357005063
0/100100/10056/100
👥 S:T ratio
52
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
37
📋 Attendance
64
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Asa Packer El Sch earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Pennsylvania schools.

#2 of 12
elementary schools in Bethlehem · Resource Index
56
Resource Index · Higher
12.1:1
small classes for Pennsylvania
28.9%
free-lunch eligible

Asa Packer El Sch has class sizes smaller than 70% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Asa Packer El Sch ranks #2 of 12 elementary schools in Bethlehem, PA.

Enrollment

314

Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

26.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.1:1

vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg

-11% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

28.9%

vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg

-50% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Asa Packer El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Asa Packer El Sch

Asa Packer El Sch is a mid-sized elementary school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, enrolling 314 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 28.9% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 314 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.

Against 360 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #99.

Its student body is led by White (66%) and Hispanic or Latino (21%) (diversity index 52/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 314 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

14.6% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Among Bethlehem's elementary schools, it stands alongside Southern Lehigh Intermediate Sch (702 students): Asa Packer El Sch is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.1:1 vs 14.9:1).

Bethlehem Area Sd also operates Liberty Hs (2,541 students) and Freedom Hs (1,792 students) alongside Asa Packer El Sch.

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 Asa Packer El Sch compares

Asa Packer El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Pennsylvania Pennsylvania avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.1:1 ▼ 11% 13.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 28.9% ▼ 50% 58.1% 51.7%
Enrollment 314 top 75% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.1:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
314
Bigger than 34% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
28.9%
free-lunch eligible - 50% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.1:1
students per teacher - 11% below state mean
Top 30% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
14.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$17,060
per pupil, district-wide - below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 314 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 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 65.6%
Hispanic or Latino 21.3%
African American 6.7%
Asian 6.4%

Largest group: White at 65.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 51.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 51.6, Asa Packer El Sch is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bethlehem Area Sd, which includes Asa Packer El Sch.

$17,060
Per student
-5%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 64.1%
State 24.8%
Federal 11.2%

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 Asa Packer El Sch Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Liberty Hs Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Freedom Hs Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
East Hills Ms Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Nitschmann Ms Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Northeast Ms Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Asa Packer El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Bethlehem Area Sd · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Bethlehem

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Asa Packer El Sch's federal record.

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 Asa Packer El Sch

How many students attend Asa Packer El Sch?

Asa Packer El Sch has 314 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bethlehem, PA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Asa Packer El Sch?

The student-teacher ratio at Asa Packer El Sch is 12.1:1, which is 11% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 23% 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 Asa Packer El Sch?

28.9% of students at Asa Packer El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Asa Packer El Sch?

The largest demographic group at Asa Packer El Sch is White at 65.6% of enrollment, in Bethlehem, PA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Asa Packer El Sch?

Asa Packer El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher 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).

How does Asa Packer El Sch rank among elementary schools in Bethlehem?

By Resource Investment Index, Asa Packer El Sch ranks #2 of 12 elementary schools in Bethlehem, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Bethlehem on the city page.

Is Asa Packer El Sch a good school?

Asa Packer El Sch earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Pennsylvania 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 Bethlehem Area Sd?

Besides Asa Packer El Sch, Bethlehem Area Sd also operates Liberty Hs (2,541 students), Freedom Hs (1,792 students), and East Hills Ms (966 students). See the Bethlehem Area Sd district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.