Enrollment
507
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Montgomery, AL
Bear Exploration Center
Federal NCES profile for Bear Exploration Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 010243000991
👥 S:T ratio 28
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 91
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bear Exploration Center earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama median.
- #3 of 7
- elementary schools in Montgomery · Resource Index
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.1:1
- students per teacher
- 13.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Bear Exploration Center has class sizes near the Alabama median. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Bear Exploration Center ranks #3 of 7 elementary schools in Montgomery, AL.
School address
District: Montgomery County · Alabama
NCES ID 010243000991 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bear Exploration Center compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bear Exploration Center
Bear Exploration Center is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Montgomery, Alabama, enrolling 507 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 18.1:1 puts it in the larger third of Alabama schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 13.3% free-meal eligibility runs 77% below the Alabama average.
With 507 students, its enrollment sits close to the Alabama median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Among 54 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Alabama schools statewide, it ranks #42, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (65%) and White (23%) (diversity index 53/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 507 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 3.7% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 25.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Montgomery's elementary schools, it stands alongside Forest Avenue Elementary School (617 students): Bear Exploration Center is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (18.1:1 vs 17.1:1).
Montgomery County also operates Jefferson Davis High School (1,587 students) and Carver Senior High School (1,553 students) alongside Bear Exploration Center.
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 Bear Exploration Center compares
Bear Exploration Center on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.1:1 | ▲ 2% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.3% | ▼ 77% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 507 | top 44% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.1:1
Leaner classes than 24% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
507
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
13.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 77% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
- 2% above state mean
Top 62% in Alabama - lower ratio than 38% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
3.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$11,430
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
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 507 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 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
African American 64.5%
White 22.5%
Hispanic or Latino 5.1%
Two or More 4.5%
Asian 3.4%
Largest group: African American at 64.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.8, Bear Exploration Center is more mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Montgomery County, which includes Bear Exploration Center.
$11,430
Per student
-8%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.1%
State 55.2%
Federal 25.7%
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 Bear Exploration Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Davis High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Carver Senior High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lee High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Park Crossing High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Brewbaker Middle School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bear Exploration Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,587
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Resource Index
- 14/100
- Enrollment
- 1,553
- Students per teacher
- 32.4:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 1,282
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 882
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 806
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
Similar elementary schools in Montgomery
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Forest Avenue Elementary School
Standard public school
617 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Life Academy at Historic St Jude Educational Institute
Standard public school
599 students 49.9:1 students per teacher
Brewbaker Intermediate School
Standard public school
549 students 22:1 students per teacher
Lead Academy Building B
Standard public school
394 students 32.8:1 students per teacher
Macmillan International at Mckee
Standard public school
386 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
Lead Academy Building a
Standard public school
358 students 22.4:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~507 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bear Exploration Center's federal record.
- Compare Bear Exploration Center against another school. Compare schools
- Montgomery County'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 Bear Exploration Center
How many students attend Bear Exploration Center?
Bear Exploration Center has 507 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Montgomery, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bear Exploration Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Bear Exploration Center is 18.1:1, which is 2% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bear Exploration Center?
13.3% of students at Bear Exploration Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bear Exploration Center?
The largest demographic group at Bear Exploration Center is African American at 64.5% of enrollment, in Montgomery, AL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bear Exploration Center?
Bear Exploration Center has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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 Bear Exploration Center rank among elementary schools in Montgomery?
By Resource Investment Index, Bear Exploration Center ranks #3 of 7 elementary schools in Montgomery, AL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Montgomery on the city page.
Is Bear Exploration Center a good school?
Bear Exploration Center earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama 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 Montgomery County?
Besides Bear Exploration Center, Montgomery County also operates Jefferson Davis High School (1,587 students), Carver Senior High School (1,553 students), and Lee High School (1,282 students). See the Montgomery County 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.