Enrollment
303
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Norwood, MA
Balch
Federal NCES profile for Balch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 250906001460
👥 S:T ratio 61
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 20
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Balch earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of Massachusetts schools.
- #4 of 5
- elementary schools in Norwood · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9.8:1
- small classes for Massachusetts
- 303
- students enrolled
Balch has class sizes smaller than 82% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Balch ranks #4 of 5 elementary schools in Norwood, MA.
School address
District: Norwood · Massachusetts
NCES ID 250906001460 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.8:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-20% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Balch compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Balch
Balch is a mid-sized elementary school in Norwood, Massachusetts, enrolling 303 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 303 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (42%) and White (38%) (diversity index 67/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 303 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Norwood's elementary schools, it stands alongside F a Cleveland (339 students): Balch is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.8:1 vs 11.3:1).
Norwood also operates Norwood High (966 students) and Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School (807 students) alongside Balch.
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 Balch compares
Balch on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.8:1 | ▼ 20% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 303 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.8:1
Leaner classes than 90% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
303
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9.8:1
students per teacher
- 20% below state mean
Top 18% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
32.0%
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
$22,513
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 303 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
- 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
Hispanic or Latino 41.6%
White 37.6%
African American 10.6%
Asian 6.6%
Two or More 1.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 41.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 66.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 66.9, Balch is more mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Norwood, which includes Balch.
$22,513
Per student
+0%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 65.5%
State 26.8%
Federal 7.7%
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.
How Balch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norwood High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| F a Cleveland | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Charles J Prescott | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| John P Oldham | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Balch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 966
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 807
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 339
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 267
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 261
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar elementary schools in Norwood
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
F a Cleveland
Standard public school
339 students 11.3:1 students per teacher
Charles J Prescott
Standard public school
267 students 11.6:1 students per teacher
John P Oldham
Standard public school
261 students 10.9:1 students per teacher
Cornelius M Callahan
Standard public school
247 students 11.2:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~303 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Balch's federal record.
- Compare Balch against another school. Compare schools
- Norwood'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 Balch
How many students attend Balch?
Balch has 303 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Norwood, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Balch?
The student-teacher ratio at Balch is 9.8:1, which is 20% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 38% 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 Balch?
The largest demographic group at Balch is Hispanic or Latino at 41.6% of enrollment, in Norwood, MA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Balch?
Balch has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Balch rank among elementary schools in Norwood?
By Resource Investment Index, Balch ranks #4 of 5 elementary schools in Norwood, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Norwood on the city page.
Is Balch a good school?
Balch earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of Massachusetts 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 Norwood?
Besides Balch, Norwood also operates Norwood High (966 students), Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School (807 students), and F a Cleveland (339 students). See the Norwood 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.