Enrollment
325
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Newton Centre, MA
Bowen
Federal NCES profile for Bowen, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 250861001358
👥 S:T ratio 58
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 62
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bowen earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Massachusetts schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Massachusetts schools.
- #4 of 4
- elementary schools in Newton Centre · Resource Index
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.5:1
- small classes for Massachusetts
- 325
- students enrolled
Bowen has class sizes smaller than 73% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Bowen ranks #4 of 4 elementary schools in Newton Centre, MA.
School address
District: Newton · Massachusetts
NCES ID 250861001358 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bowen compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bowen
Bowen is a mid-sized elementary school in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, enrolling 325 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 325 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by White (43%) and Asian (31%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 69/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 650 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
15.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Newton Centre's elementary schools, it stands alongside Memorial Spaulding (342 students): Bowen is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (10.5:1 vs 9.8:1).
Newton also operates Newton North High (2,096 students) and Newton South High (1,898 students) alongside Bowen.
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 Bowen compares
Bowen on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.5:1 | ▼ 15% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 325 | top 66% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.5:1
Leaner classes than 86% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
325
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10.5:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 27% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
15.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$26,734
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 43.4%
Asian 30.8%
Hispanic or Latino 12.6%
Two or More 10.2%
African American 3.1%
Largest group: White at 43.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 69.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 69.0, Bowen is more mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Newton, which includes Bowen.
$26,734
Per student
+19%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+61%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 73.7%
State 20.8%
Federal 5.5%
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 Bowen Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton North High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Newton South High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| F a Day Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Charles E Brown Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Oak Hill Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bowen's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,096
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 1,898
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 860
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 713
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 649
- Students per teacher
- 9.7:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
Similar elementary schools in Newton Centre
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~325 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bowen's federal record.
- Compare Bowen against another school. Compare schools
- Newton'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 Bowen
How many students attend Bowen?
Bowen has 325 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Newton Centre, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bowen?
The student-teacher ratio at Bowen is 10.5:1, which is 15% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 33% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bowen?
The largest demographic group at Bowen is White at 43.4% of enrollment, in Newton Centre, MA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 69.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bowen?
Bowen has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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).
How does Bowen rank among elementary schools in Newton Centre?
By Resource Investment Index, Bowen ranks #4 of 4 elementary schools in Newton Centre, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Newton Centre on the city page.
Is Bowen a good school?
Bowen earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Massachusetts schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Massachusetts schools. 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 Newton?
Besides Bowen, Newton also operates Newton North High (2,096 students), Newton South High (1,898 students), and F a Day Middle (860 students). See the Newton 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.