Enrollment
696
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Tallahassee, FL
Buck Lake Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Buck Lake Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120111002680
👥 S:T ratio 40
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 75
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Buck Lake Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median.
- #5 of 37
- schools in Tallahassee · Resource Index
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.1:1
- students per teacher
- 14.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Buck Lake Elementary School has class sizes near the Florida median. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Buck Lake Elementary School ranks #5 of 37 schools in Tallahassee, FL.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.1:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.4%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buck Lake Elementary School compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Buck Lake Elementary School
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Buck Lake Elementary School is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Florida schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Lower need and stronger resource signals align
Buck Lake Elementary School reports lower free-meal eligibility than most Florida schools and an above-typical Resource Investment Index. The two measures move together, a pattern consistent with the resource advantages that often accompany a lower-need intake. That association should not be mistaken for a causal verdict about the school; it is a transparent description of how this campus sits on two independent federal-data dimensions.
Attendance is a relative strength
9.9% of Buck Lake Elementary School students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 civil-rights collection. On its face, that is a comparatively low historical rate, though this page does not treat it as a current national benchmark or guarantee current-year performance. Here, attendance is a more distinctive signal than the presence or absence of any single specialist role.
Buck Lake Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Tallahassee, Florida, enrolling 696 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Florida schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 14.4% free-meal eligibility runs 72% below the Florida average.
With 696 students, its enrollment sits close to the Florida median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 91% of the 3,996 Florida schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 283 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Florida schools statewide, it ranks #28, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (58%) and African American (14%) (diversity index 62/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 348 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance holds up well here: only 9.9% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 18.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Leon also operates Lawton Chiles High School (1,881 students) and Lincoln High School (1,822 students) alongside Buck Lake Elementary School.
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 Buck Lake Elementary School compares
Buck Lake Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.1:1 | ▼ 15% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.4% | ▼ 72% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 696 | top 39% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
696
Bigger than 80% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
14.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 72% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.1:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 34% in Florida - lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
9.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$10,979
per pupil, district-wide
- below Florida avg of $12,081
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 348 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 57.9%
African American 14.2%
Asian 10.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.6%
Two or More 7.6%
Largest group: White at 57.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 61.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 61.8, Buck Lake Elementary School is more mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Leon, which includes Buck Lake Elementary School.
$10,979
Per student
-9%
vs Florida
Avg $12,081
-38%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 42.6%
State 39.3%
Federal 18.1%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Buck Lake Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawton Chiles High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lincoln High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Leon High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| James Rickards High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Amos P. Godby High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Buck Lake Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,881
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 1,822
- Students per teacher
- 24.6:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 1,793
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 1,718
- Students per teacher
- 26.8:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
- Enrollment
- 1,388
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~696 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Buck Lake Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Buck Lake Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Leon'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 Buck Lake Elementary School
How many students attend Buck Lake Elementary School?
Buck Lake Elementary School has 696 students enrolled. It is a public school in Tallahassee, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buck Lake Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Buck Lake Elementary School is 15.1:1, which is 15% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buck Lake Elementary School?
14.4% of students at Buck Lake Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buck Lake Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Buck Lake Elementary School is White at 57.9% of enrollment, in Tallahassee, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buck Lake Elementary School?
Buck Lake Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Buck Lake Elementary School rank among schools in Tallahassee?
By Resource Investment Index, Buck Lake Elementary School ranks #5 of 37 schools in Tallahassee, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Tallahassee on the city page.
What other schools are in Leon?
Besides Buck Lake Elementary School, Leon also operates Lawton Chiles High School (1,881 students), Lincoln High School (1,822 students), and Leon High School (1,793 students). See the Leon 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.