Enrollment
229
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 120150008019 Charter school
Ben Gamla-Palm Beach — Boynton Beach, FL
Federal NCES profile for Ben Gamla-Palm Beach, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 27
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Palm Beach · Florida
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.3%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ben Gamla-Palm Beach compares with Florida and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Ben Gamla-Palm Beach reports 229 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 15.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 34% below the Florida average and 34% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palm Beach spends $14,596 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 63.0% from local sources (property taxes), 21.7% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), calculated from 3 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Ben Gamla-Palm Beach compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▼ 11% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.3% | ▼ 34% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 229 | top 18% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
34.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 34% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 11% below state mean
Top 44% in Florida — lower ratio than 56% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,596
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 229 Top 18% in Florida — larger than 82% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 15.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.3% -34% vs state
NCES ID 120150008019
Student demographics
White 59.0%
Hispanic or Latino 21.0%
African American 14.4%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 59.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.3%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Beach, which includes Ben Gamla-Palm Beach.
$14,596
Per student
+14%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 63.0%
State 21.7%
Federal 15.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,262
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 3,122
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,881
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,819
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,809
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
Similar elementary schools in Boynton Beach
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Ben Gamla-Palm Beach
How many students attend Ben Gamla-Palm Beach?
Ben Gamla-Palm Beach has 229 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in BOYNTON BEACH, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ben Gamla-Palm Beach?
The student-teacher ratio at Ben Gamla-Palm Beach is 16.3:1, which is 11% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ben Gamla-Palm Beach?
34.3% of students at Ben Gamla-Palm Beach are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ben Gamla-Palm Beach?
The largest demographic group at Ben Gamla-Palm Beach is White at 59.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in BOYNTON BEACH, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ben Gamla-Palm Beach?
Ben Gamla-Palm Beach has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.