Enrollment
1,163
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 220168001299
Champ Cooper Elementary School — Ponchatoula, LA
Federal NCES profile for Champ Cooper Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 55
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: Tangipahoa Parish · Louisiana
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)
50.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.5:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.5%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Champ Cooper Elementary School compares with Louisiana 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
Champ Cooper Elementary School reports 1,163 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 50.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% above the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 50.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the Louisiana average and 3% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1163 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Tangipahoa Parish spends $13,701 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.2% from local sources (property taxes), 40.7% from the state, and 20.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Champ Cooper Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.5:1 | ▲ 21% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.5% | ▼ 19% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,163 | top 95% | — | — |
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
50.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% 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
22.5:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 91% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.1%
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
$13,701
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 1163 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
86
in-school suspensions + 30 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,163 Top 95% in Louisiana — larger than 5% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 50.0
Students per teacher 22.5:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 50.5% -19% vs state
NCES ID 220168001299
Student demographics
White 52.1%
African American 31.7%
Hispanic or Latino 8.5%
Two or More 6.5%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 52.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 1163:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.1%
In-school suspensions 86
Out-of-school suspensions 30
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tangipahoa Parish, which includes Champ Cooper Elementary School.
$13,701
Per student
-23%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.2%
State 40.7%
Federal 20.1%
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
- 2,067
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,606
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,340
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,022
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 800
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
Similar other schools in Ponchatoula
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Champ Cooper Elementary School
How many students attend Champ Cooper Elementary School?
Champ Cooper Elementary School has 1,163 students enrolled. It is a other school in Ponchatoula, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Champ Cooper Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Champ Cooper Elementary School is 22.5:1, which is 21% higher than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Champ Cooper Elementary School?
50.5% of students at Champ Cooper Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Champ Cooper Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Champ Cooper Elementary School is White at 52.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Ponchatoula, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Champ Cooper Elementary School?
Champ Cooper Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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.