Enrollment
198
Connecticut · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chester, CT
Chester Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Chester Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 70/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 090078000130
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 78
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Chester Elementary School earns 70/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Connecticut schools.
- 70
- Resource Index · Higher
- 23.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 198
- students enrolled
School address
District: Chester School District · Connecticut
NCES ID 090078000130 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
23.9%
vs 36.4% Connecticut avg
-34% vs state
What stands out at Chester Elementary School
Chester Elementary School is a small elementary school in Chester, Connecticut, enrolling 198 students.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 23.9% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 92% of Connecticut schools, with 198 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 1,003 Connecticut schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 96 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Connecticut schools statewide, it ranks #3, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 198 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Chester School District spends $29,722 per pupil, 25% above the Connecticut average, a better-resourced district than most.
Chester School District operates only this one school, so Chester Elementary School has no district-mates to compare against locally. At 198 students, it is also a small operation, on the smaller end of Connecticut's single-school districts.
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 Chester Elementary School compares
Chester Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Connecticut and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Connecticut | Connecticut avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.9% | ▼ 34% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 198 | top 92% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
198
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
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)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$29,722
per pupil, district-wide
- above Connecticut avg of $23,870
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially 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
- 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 87.4%
Hispanic or Latino 8.6%
Two or More 3.0%
Asian 1.0%
Largest group: White at 87.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.8, Chester Elementary School is less mixed than the Connecticut school average of 50.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chester School District, which includes Chester Elementary School.
$29,722
Per student
+25%
vs Connecticut
Avg $23,870
+79%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Connecticut, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Chester Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Chester Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Chester School District'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 Chester Elementary School
How many students attend Chester Elementary School?
Chester Elementary School has 198 students enrolled. It is an 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% of enrollment, in Chester, CT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Chester Elementary School?
Chester Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Chester Elementary School a good school?
Chester Elementary School earns 70/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Connecticut 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 Chester School District?
None reported; Chester School District operates only Chester Elementary School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.