Enrollment
278
Vermont · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 500043400028
Bennington Elementary School — Bennington, VT
Federal NCES profile for Bennington Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 17
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 0
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
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
20.8:1
vs 13:1 Vermont avg
+60% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
61.9%
vs 27.6% Vermont avg
+124% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bennington Elementary School compares with Vermont 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 Elementary School reports 278 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 15.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 60% above the Vermont state mean of 13:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 61.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 124% above the Vermont average and 19% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 139 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 46.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87 spends $16,672 per pupil district-wide, below the Vermont average of $26,366 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 1.5% from local sources (property taxes), 97.9% from the state, and 0.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), calculated from 4 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 Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Vermont state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Vermont | Vermont avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.8:1 | ▲ 60% | 13:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 61.9% | ▲ 124% | 27.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 278 | top 64% | — | — |
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
61.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 124% above the Vermont average of 27.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.8:1
students per teacher
— 60% above state mean
Top 98% in Vermont — lower ratio than 2% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
46.4%
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
$16,672
per pupil, district-wide
— below Vermont avg of $26,366
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 139 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 30 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 278 Top 64% in Vermont — larger than 36% of 289 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 15.0
Students per teacher 20.8:1 +60% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 61.9% +124% vs state
NCES ID 500043400028
Student demographics
White 88.5%
Asian 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 3.2%
Two or More 3.2%
African American 1.4%
Largest group: White at 88.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 139:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 46.4%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 30
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwest Vermont Union Elementary School District #87, which includes Bennington Elementary School.
$16,672
Per student
-37%
vs Vermont
Avg $26,366
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 1.5%
State 97.9%
Federal 0.6%
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
- 402
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 249
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 245
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 147
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 30
- Students per teacher
- 9.3:1
Similar other schools in Bennington
3 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 Elementary School
How many students attend Bennington Elementary School?
Bennington Elementary School has 278 students enrolled. It is a other school in Bennington, VT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bennington Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bennington Elementary School is 20.8:1, which is 60% higher than the Vermont average of 13:1 and 31% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bennington Elementary School?
61.9% of students at Bennington Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Vermont average of 27.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bennington Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Bennington Elementary School is White at 88.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bennington, VT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bennington Elementary School?
Bennington Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.