Enrollment
892
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · North Port, FL
Atwater Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Atwater Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120168007758
👥 S:T ratio 33
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Atwater Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median.
- #6 of 6
- schools in North Port · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.8:1
- students per teacher
- 55.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Atwater Elementary has class sizes near the Florida median. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Atwater Elementary ranks #6 of 6 schools in North Port, FL.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.8:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.4%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Atwater Elementary compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Atwater Elementary
Atwater Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in North Port, Florida, enrolling 892 students.
At 16.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Florida median, within a few percentage points of the 17.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 55.4% lands close to the Florida typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 892 puts it in the larger third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,996 scored Florida schools.
Against 933 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #334.
Its student body is led by White (63%) and Hispanic or Latino (20%) (diversity index 56/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 892 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Sarasota also operates Riverview High School (2,637 students) and Venice Senior High School (2,579 students) alongside Atwater Elementary.
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 Atwater Elementary compares
Atwater Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.8:1 | ▼ 6% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.4% | ▲ 7% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 892 | top 25% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.8:1
Leaner classes than 32% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
892
Bigger than 89% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 7% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.8:1
students per teacher
- 6% below state mean
Top 53% in Florida - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
22.8%
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
$12,753
per pupil, district-wide
- above Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 892 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 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 62.6%
Hispanic or Latino 19.8%
African American 9.2%
Two or More 7.3%
Asian 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 62.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 55.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 55.5, Atwater Elementary is more mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sarasota, which includes Atwater Elementary.
$12,753
Per student
+14%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 77.1%
State 11.5%
Federal 11.3%
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 Atwater Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverview High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Venice Senior High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Port High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sarasota High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pine View School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Atwater Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,637
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 2,579
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 2,359
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~892 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Atwater Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Atwater Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Sarasota'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 Atwater Elementary
How many students attend Atwater Elementary?
Atwater Elementary has 892 students enrolled. It is a public school in North Port, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Atwater Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Atwater Elementary is 16.8:1, which is 6% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 7% higher 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 Atwater Elementary?
55.4% of students at Atwater Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Atwater Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Atwater Elementary is White at 62.6% of enrollment, in North Port, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 55.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Atwater Elementary?
Atwater Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical 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 Atwater Elementary rank among schools in North Port?
By Resource Investment Index, Atwater Elementary ranks #6 of 6 schools in North Port, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in North Port on the city page.
Is Atwater Elementary a good school?
Atwater Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median. 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 Sarasota?
Besides Atwater Elementary, Sarasota also operates Riverview High School (2,637 students), Venice Senior High School (2,579 students), and North Port High School (2,557 students). See the Sarasota 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.