Enrollment
319
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lacombe, LA
Chahta-Ima Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Chahta-Ima Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 220165001272
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 75
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Chahta-Ima Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Louisiana median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Louisiana schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.9:1
- students per teacher
- 60.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 319
- students enrolled
Chahta-Ima Elementary School has class sizes near the Louisiana median. Computed live against every Louisiana school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: St. Tammany Parish · Louisiana
NCES ID 220165001272 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 16.8:1 Louisiana avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.6%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Chahta-Ima Elementary School compares with Louisiana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Chahta-Ima Elementary School
Chahta-Ima Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Lacombe, Louisiana, enrolling 319 students.
At 15.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Louisiana median, within a few percentage points of the 16.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 60.6% lands close to the Louisiana typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 319 puts it in the smaller third of Louisiana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,330 scored Louisiana schools.
Against 299 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #118.
Its student body is led by White (43%) and African American (27%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 69/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 319 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
10.0% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
St. Tammany Parish also operates Mandeville High School (2,006 students) and Slidell High School (1,654 students) alongside Chahta-Ima 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 Chahta-Ima Elementary School compares
Chahta-Ima Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Louisiana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.9:1 | ▼ 5% | 16.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.6% | ▼ 3% | 62.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 319 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.9:1
Leaner classes than 39% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
319
Bigger than 35% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
60.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 3% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 45% in Louisiana - lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
10.0%
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
$14,024
per pupil, district-wide
- below Louisiana avg of $16,376
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 319 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 22 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.7 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 42.6%
African American 27.3%
Hispanic or Latino 20.7%
Two or More 8.2%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 42.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 69.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 69.4, Chahta-Ima Elementary School is more mixed than the Louisiana school average of 43.9.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Tammany Parish, which includes Chahta-Ima Elementary School.
$14,024
Per student
-14%
vs Louisiana
Avg $16,376
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 51.9%
State 38.3%
Federal 9.8%
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 Chahta-Ima Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandeville High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Slidell High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Covington High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Northshore High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Joseph B. Lancaster Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Chahta-Ima Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,006
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 1,654
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,600
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 1,518
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 1,480
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Louisiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~319 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Chahta-Ima Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Chahta-Ima Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- St. Tammany Parish'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 Chahta-Ima Elementary School
How many students attend Chahta-Ima Elementary School?
Chahta-Ima Elementary School has 319 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lacombe, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Chahta-Ima Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Chahta-Ima Elementary School is 15.9:1, which is 5% lower than the Louisiana average of 16.8:1 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 Chahta-Ima Elementary School?
60.6% of students at Chahta-Ima Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Chahta-Ima Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Chahta-Ima Elementary School is White at 42.6% of enrollment, in Lacombe, LA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 69.4/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Chahta-Ima Elementary School?
Chahta-Ima Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher 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).
Is Chahta-Ima Elementary School a good school?
Chahta-Ima Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Louisiana median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Louisiana schools. 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 St. Tammany Parish?
Besides Chahta-Ima Elementary School, St. Tammany Parish also operates Mandeville High School (2,006 students), Slidell High School (1,654 students), and Covington High School (1,600 students). See the St. Tammany Parish 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.