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 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120111002680
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 75
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 →
The verdict
Buck Lake Elementary School earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes near the Florida median.
- C-
- Resource Index · 53/100
- 15.9:1
- students per teacher
- 14.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 696
- students enrolled
Buck Lake Elementary School has class sizes near the Florida median. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
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)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-13% 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
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
Buck Lake Elementary School reports 696 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 46.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 14.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 72% below the Florida average and 72% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 348 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Leon spends $10,180 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $11,167 and below the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 42.6% from local sources (property taxes), 39.3% from the state, and 18.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Buck Lake Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.9:1 | ▼ 13% | 18.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.4% | ▼ 72% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 696 | top 61% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
16 smaller classes than 40% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
696 larger than 80% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
14.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 72% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 39% in Florida — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$10,180
per pupil, district-wide
— below Florida avg of $11,167
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints 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.
Overview
Enrollment 696 Top 61% in Florida — larger than 39% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 46.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 14.4% -72% vs state
NCES ID 120111002680
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.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 348:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.9%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Leon, which includes Buck Lake Elementary School.
$10,180
Per student
-9%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-39%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 42.6%
State 39.3%
Federal 18.1%
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
- 1,881
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,822
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,793
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,718
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,388
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
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.
Before you act on this record
Treat this page as the federal baseline — then verify locally.
- Compare Buck Lake Elementary School side-by-side with another school you're considering on the same NCES measures. Compare schools
- Read the district context — spending per pupil, staffing, and equity ranking are district-level decisions that shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment windows, programs, and boundaries with the school directly — federal data lags the current school year. Choosing guide
Figures are the school's reported federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) — coverage varies by entity type, and PlainSchools does not rate or rank schools.
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 other 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 15.9:1, which is 13% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 1% higher 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%. The school serves a diverse student body in Tallahassee, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buck Lake Elementary School?
Buck Lake Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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.
Is Buck Lake Elementary School a good school?
Buck Lake Elementary School earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes near the Florida median. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.