Enrollment
303
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 050633000357
Cavanaugh Elementary School — Fort Smith, AR
Federal NCES profile for Cavanaugh Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 53
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: Fort Smith School District · Arkansas
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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
51.3%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cavanaugh Elementary School compares with Arkansas 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
Cavanaugh Elementary School reports 303 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 51.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% below the Arkansas average and 1% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 606 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fort Smith School District spends $15,628 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.4% from local sources (property taxes), 44.3% from the state, and 20.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), 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 Cavanaugh Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▲ 20% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 51.3% | ▼ 13% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 303 | 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
51.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 20% above state mean
Top 73% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.8%
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
$15,628
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 606 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 303 Top 33% in Arkansas — larger than 67% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 +20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 51.3% -13% vs state
NCES ID 050633000357
Student demographics
White 45.9%
Hispanic or Latino 19.5%
Two or More 16.2%
African American 12.5%
Asian 5.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 45.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 606:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.8%
In-school suspensions 13
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fort Smith School District, which includes Cavanaugh Elementary School.
$15,628
Per student
+10%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.4%
State 44.3%
Federal 20.2%
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
- 2,231
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,053
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Enrollment
- 801
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 753
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 753
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
Similar other schools in Fort Smith
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Fairview Elementary School
Standard public school
582 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
John P. Woods Elem. School
Standard public school
514 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Sunnymede Elementary School
Standard public school
510 students 20.3:1 students per teacher
Harry C. Morrison Elem. School
Standard public school
493 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Elmer H. Cook Elem. School
Standard public school
459 students 20:1 students per teacher
Sutton Elementary School
Standard public school
411 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
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 Cavanaugh Elementary School
How many students attend Cavanaugh Elementary School?
Cavanaugh Elementary School has 303 students enrolled. It is a other school in FORT SMITH, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cavanaugh Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cavanaugh Elementary School is 16.3:1, which is 20% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cavanaugh Elementary School?
51.3% of students at Cavanaugh Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cavanaugh Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Cavanaugh Elementary School is White at 45.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in FORT SMITH, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cavanaugh Elementary School?
Cavanaugh Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.