Enrollment
530
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Park Hills, MO
Central Elem.
Federal NCES profile for Central Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 292917001868
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 63
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Central Elem. earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Park Hills · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.3:1
- students per teacher
- 51.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Central Elem. has class sizes near the Missouri median. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Central Elem. ranks #2 of 3 schools in Park Hills, MO.
School address
District: Central R-Iii · Missouri
NCES ID 292917001868 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.3:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
51.5%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
+12% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Central Elem. compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Central Elem.
Central Elem. is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Park Hills, Missouri, enrolling 530 students.
At 12.3:1, 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.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 51.5% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 530 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,313 scored Missouri schools.
Among 325 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Missouri schools statewide, it ranks #298, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 530 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
14.9% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 22.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Central R-Iii also operates Central High (605 students) and West Elem. (464 students) alongside Central Elem..
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 Central Elem. compares
Central Elem. on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.3:1 | ▼ 4% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 51.5% | ▲ 12% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 530 | top 19% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.3:1
Leaner classes than 73% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
530
Bigger than 65% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
51.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 12% above the Missouri average of 46.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.3:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 44% in Missouri - lower ratio than 56% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
14.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$10,842
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 530 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.4 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 90.2%
Two or More 4.9%
Hispanic or Latino 2.6%
African American 1.9%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 90.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 18.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 18.3, Central Elem. is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Central R-Iii, which includes Central Elem..
$10,842
Per student
-16%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.2%
State 43.7%
Federal 22.1%
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.
How Central Elem. Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Elem. | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Central Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Central Elem.'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 605
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 464
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 442
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
Similar other 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 (~530 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Central Elem.'s federal record.
- Compare Central Elem. against another school. Compare schools
- Central R-Iii'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 Central Elem.
How many students attend Central Elem.?
Central Elem. has 530 students enrolled. It is a public school in Park Hills, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Central Elem. is 12.3:1, which is 4% lower than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 22% 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 Central Elem.?
51.5% of students at Central Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Central Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Central Elem. is White at 90.2% of enrollment, in Park Hills, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Central Elem.?
Central Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Central Elem. rank among schools in Park Hills?
By Resource Investment Index, Central Elem. ranks #2 of 3 schools in Park Hills, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Park Hills on the city page.
Is Central Elem. a good school?
Central Elem. earns 36/100 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 Central R-Iii?
Besides Central Elem., Central R-Iii also operates Central High (605 students), West Elem. (464 students), and Central Middle (442 students). See the Central R-Iii 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.