Enrollment
656
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Bell, FL
Bell Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Bell Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120063002181
👥 S:T ratio 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 27
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bell Elementary School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.7:1
- students per teacher
- 54.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 656
- students enrolled
Bell Elementary School has class sizes near the Florida median. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.7:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
54.6%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bell Elementary School compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bell Elementary School
Bell Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Bell, Florida, enrolling 656 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 18.7:1 puts it in the larger third of Florida schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 54.6% lands close to the Florida typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 656 students, its enrollment sits close to the Florida median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,996 scored Florida schools.
Against 980 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #246.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 328 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Gilchrist also operates Trenton Elementary School (779 students) and Trenton High School (701 students) alongside Bell Elementary School.
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 Bell Elementary School compares
Bell Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.7:1 | ▲ 5% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 54.6% | ▲ 5% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 656 | top 44% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.7:1
Leaner classes than 21% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
656
Bigger than 77% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
54.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 5% 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
18.7:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 69% in Florida - lower ratio than 31% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.1%
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
$11,383
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 328 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.6 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 81.4%
Hispanic or Latino 14.0%
Two or More 2.3%
African American 2.1%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 81.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 31.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 31.7, Bell Elementary School is less mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gilchrist, which includes Bell Elementary School.
$11,383
Per student
+2%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.8%
State 58.1%
Federal 19.2%
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 Bell Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trenton Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Trenton High School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bell High School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Gilchrist Virtual Franchise | Smaller | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Gilchrist Virtual Instruction Program (District Provided) | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Bell Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 779
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 701
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 696
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 26
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 70/100
- Enrollment
- 4
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 30/100
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 (~656 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bell Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Bell Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Gilchrist'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 Bell Elementary School
How many students attend Bell Elementary School?
Bell Elementary School has 656 students enrolled. It is a public school in Bell, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bell Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bell Elementary School is 18.7:1, which is 5% higher than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 19% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bell Elementary School?
54.6% of students at Bell Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bell Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Bell Elementary School is White at 81.4% of enrollment, in Bell, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bell Elementary School?
Bell Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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).
Is Bell Elementary School a good school?
Bell Elementary School earns 39/100 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 Gilchrist?
Besides Bell Elementary School, Gilchrist also operates Trenton Elementary School (779 students), Trenton High School (701 students), and Bell High School (696 students). See the Gilchrist 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.