Enrollment
235
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 200396000164
Bennington Elem — Bennington, KS
Federal NCES profile for Bennington Elem, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 41
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 75
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: Twin Valley · Kansas
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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.8:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
+3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.6%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-17% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bennington Elem compares with Kansas 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
Bennington Elem reports 235 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% above the Kansas state mean of 14.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 17% below the Kansas average and 31% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Twin Valley spends $14,993 per pupil district-wide, below the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.1% from local sources (property taxes), 72.4% from the state, and 7.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Bennington Elem compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.8:1 | ▲ 3% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.6% | ▼ 17% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 235 | top 40% | — | — |
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
35.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 17% below the Kansas average of 42.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.8:1
students per teacher
— 3% above state mean
Top 69% in Kansas — lower ratio than 31% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
10.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,993
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kansas avg of $17,342
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 + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 235 Top 40% in Kansas — larger than 60% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 14.8:1 +3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.6% -17% vs state
NCES ID 200396000164
Student demographics
White 90.2%
Hispanic or Latino 7.2%
Two or More 2.1%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 90.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.2%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Twin Valley, which includes Bennington Elem.
$14,993
Per student
-14%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.1%
State 72.4%
Federal 7.4%
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
- 219
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 72
- Students per teacher
- 8.8:1
- Enrollment
- 69
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
Similar other schools in Bennington
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Bennington Elem
How many students attend Bennington Elem?
Bennington Elem has 235 students enrolled. It is a other school in Bennington, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bennington Elem?
The student-teacher ratio at Bennington Elem is 14.8:1, which is 3% higher than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 7% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bennington Elem?
35.6% of students at Bennington Elem are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bennington Elem?
The largest demographic group at Bennington Elem is White at 90.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bennington, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bennington Elem?
Bennington Elem has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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.