Enrollment
198
Connecticut · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 090078000130
Chester Elementary School — Chester, CT
Federal NCES profile for Chester Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 70/100.
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 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: Chester School District · Connecticut
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.
Free-lunch eligible
23.9%
vs 36.4% Connecticut avg
-34% vs state
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
Chester Elementary School reports 198 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 34% below the Connecticut average and 54% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 198 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Chester School District spends $29,871 per pupil district-wide, above the Connecticut average of $28,239 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 68.5% from local sources (property taxes), 27.8% from the state, and 3.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (B), calculated from 3 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 Chester Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Connecticut state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Connecticut | Connecticut avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.9% | ▼ 34% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 198 | top 8% | — | — |
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
23.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 34% below the Connecticut average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Engagement
8.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$29,871
per pupil, district-wide
— above Connecticut avg of $28,239
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 198 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 198 Top 8% in Connecticut — larger than 92% of 1,005 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 23.9% -34% vs state
NCES ID 090078000130
Student demographics
White 87.4%
Hispanic or Latino 8.6%
Two or More 3.0%
Asian 1.0%
Largest group: White at 87.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 198:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.6%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chester School District, which includes Chester Elementary School.
$29,871
Per student
+6%
vs Connecticut
Avg $28,239
+53%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 68.5%
State 27.8%
Federal 3.7%
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.
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 Chester Elementary School
How many students attend Chester Elementary School?
Chester Elementary School has 198 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Chester, CT.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Chester Elementary School?
23.9% of students at Chester Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Connecticut average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Chester Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Chester Elementary School is White at 87.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Chester, CT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Chester Elementary School?
Chester Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (B) based on 3 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.