Enrollment
348
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 530846001429
Cherrydale Elementary — Steilacoom, WA
Federal NCES profile for Cherrydale Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 78
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: Steilacoom Hist. School District · Washington
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)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.1:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.5%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-26% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cherrydale Elementary compares with Washington 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
Cherrydale Elementary reports 348 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 26.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% below the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 11% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 26% below the Washington average and 35% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 580 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Steilacoom Hist. School District spends $20,558 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.5% from local sources (property taxes), 59.0% from the state, and 14.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Cherrydale Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.1:1 | ▼ 21% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.5% | ▼ 26% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 348 | top 44% | — | — |
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
33.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 26% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.1:1
students per teacher
— 21% below state mean
Top 20% in Washington — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
8.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$20,558
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Per 580 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 348 Top 44% in Washington — larger than 56% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 26.0
Students per teacher 14.1:1 -21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.5% -26% vs state
NCES ID 530846001429
Student demographics
White 50.6%
Hispanic or Latino 21.3%
Two or More 17.5%
African American 5.5%
Asian 4.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 50.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.6
Students per counselor 580:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Steilacoom Hist. School District, which includes Cherrydale Elementary.
$20,558
Per student
-11%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.5%
State 59.0%
Federal 14.5%
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
- 968
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Enrollment
- 758
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 475
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 437
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 29
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar elementary schools in Steilacoom
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Cherrydale Elementary
How many students attend Cherrydale Elementary?
Cherrydale Elementary has 348 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in STEILACOOM, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cherrydale Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cherrydale Elementary is 14.1:1, which is 21% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cherrydale Elementary?
33.5% of students at Cherrydale Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cherrydale Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cherrydale Elementary is White at 50.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in STEILACOOM, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cherrydale Elementary?
Cherrydale Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.