Enrollment
511
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 130129000527
Big Shanty Elementary School — Kennesaw, GA
Federal NCES profile for Big Shanty Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 32
📋 Attendance 51
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: Cobb County · Georgia
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.0%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Big Shanty Elementary School compares with Georgia 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
Big Shanty Elementary School reports 511 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 21% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 44% below the Georgia average and 34% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 341 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cobb County spends $14,611 per pupil district-wide, below the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.6% from local sources (property taxes), 35.4% from the state, and 11.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), 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 Big Shanty Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 14% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.0% | ▼ 44% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 511 | top 33% | — | — |
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
34.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 44% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 20% in Georgia — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
19.8%
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
$14,611
per pupil, district-wide
— below Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 341 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 23 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 511 Top 33% in Georgia — larger than 67% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 12.5:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.0% -44% vs state
NCES ID 130129000527
Student demographics
White 34.1%
African American 30.7%
Hispanic or Latino 25.4%
Two or More 6.8%
Asian 2.9%
Largest group: White at 34.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 341:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.8%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 23
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cobb County, which includes Big Shanty Elementary School.
$14,611
Per student
-7%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.6%
State 35.4%
Federal 11.9%
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
- 3,085
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,790
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,705
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,574
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,463
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Kennesaw
1 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 Big Shanty Elementary School
How many students attend Big Shanty Elementary School?
Big Shanty Elementary School has 511 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Kennesaw, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Shanty Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Big Shanty Elementary School is 12.5:1, which is 14% lower than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 21% lower 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 Big Shanty Elementary School?
34.0% of students at Big Shanty Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Shanty Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Big Shanty Elementary School is White at 34.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Kennesaw, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Shanty Elementary School?
Big Shanty Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) 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.