Enrollment
578
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Branson, MO
Buchanan Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Buchanan Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 290576003237
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buchanan Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median.
- #2 of 4
- elementary schools in Branson · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.8:1
- students per teacher
- 42.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Buchanan Elementary has class sizes near the Missouri median. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Buchanan Elementary ranks #2 of 4 elementary schools in Branson, MO.
School address
District: Branson R-Iv · Missouri
NCES ID 290576003237 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
45.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
42.1%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buchanan Elementary compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buchanan Elementary
Buchanan Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Branson, Missouri, enrolling 578 students.
At 12.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Missouri median, within a few percentage points of the 12.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 42.1% lands close to the Missouri typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 578 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,313 scored Missouri schools.
Against 391 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #166.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 385 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Branson R-Iv also operates Branson High (1,469 students) and Branson Jr. High (694 students) alongside Buchanan Elementary.
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 Buchanan Elementary compares
Buchanan Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.8:1 | ▼ 0% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 42.1% | ▼ 9% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 578 | top 16% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
578
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
42.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 9% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
- 0% above state mean
Top 52% in Missouri - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,461
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 385 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
37
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.8 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 81.1%
Hispanic or Latino 10.2%
Two or More 5.7%
African American 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 81.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 32.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 32.8, Buchanan Elementary is about as mixed as the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Branson R-Iv, which includes Buchanan Elementary.
$10,461
Per student
-19%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 64.5%
State 23.7%
Federal 11.7%
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 Buchanan Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branson High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Branson Jr. High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cedar Ridge Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cedar Ridge Intermediate | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Buchanan Intermediate | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buchanan Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,469
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 694
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 517
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 515
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 465
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~578 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buchanan Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Buchanan Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Branson R-Iv'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 Buchanan Elementary
How many students attend Buchanan Elementary?
Buchanan Elementary has 578 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Branson, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buchanan Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Buchanan Elementary is 12.8:1, which is 0% higher than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buchanan Elementary?
42.1% of students at Buchanan Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buchanan Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Buchanan Elementary is White at 81.1% of enrollment, in Branson, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buchanan Elementary?
Buchanan Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Buchanan Elementary rank among elementary schools in Branson?
By Resource Investment Index, Buchanan Elementary ranks #2 of 4 elementary schools in Branson, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Branson on the city page.
Is Buchanan Elementary a good school?
Buchanan Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median. 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 Branson R-Iv?
Besides Buchanan Elementary, Branson R-Iv also operates Branson High (1,469 students), Branson Jr. High (694 students), and Cedar Ridge Elementary (517 students). See the Branson R-Iv 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.