Enrollment
352
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Clarion, PA
Clarion Area El Sch
Federal NCES profile for Clarion Area El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420606005217
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Clarion Area El Sch earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 57.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 352
- students enrolled
Clarion Area El Sch has class sizes smaller than 84% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Clarion Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420606005217 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.2%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Clarion Area El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Clarion Area El Sch
Clarion Area El Sch is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Clarion, Pennsylvania, enrolling 352 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 57.2% lands close to the Pennsylvania typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 352 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 344 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #129.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 352 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district, Clarion Area Sd, also runs Clarion Area Jshs (426 students).
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 Clarion Area El Sch compares
Clarion Area El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11:1 | ▼ 19% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.2% | ▼ 2% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 352 | top 68% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11:1
Leaner classes than 83% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
352
Bigger than 40% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11:1
students per teacher
- 19% below state mean
Top 16% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,081
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 352 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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 86.9%
Two or More 6.0%
African American 2.6%
Asian 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 86.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.0, Clarion Area El Sch is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Clarion Area Sd, which includes Clarion Area El Sch.
$17,081
Per student
-5%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 49.1%
State 41.2%
Federal 9.7%
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.
How Clarion Area El Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarion Area Jshs | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Clarion Area El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 426
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~352 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Clarion Area El Sch's federal record.
- Compare Clarion Area El Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Clarion Area Sd'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 Clarion Area El Sch
How many students attend Clarion Area El Sch?
Clarion Area El Sch has 352 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Clarion, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Clarion Area El Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Clarion Area El Sch is 11:1, which is 19% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 30% lower 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 Clarion Area El Sch?
57.2% of students at Clarion Area El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Clarion Area El Sch?
The largest demographic group at Clarion Area El Sch is White at 86.9% of enrollment, in Clarion, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Clarion Area El Sch?
Clarion Area El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Clarion Area El Sch a good school?
Clarion Area El Sch earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Pennsylvania 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 Clarion Area Sd?
Besides Clarion Area El Sch, Clarion Area Sd also operates Clarion Area Jshs (426 students). See the Clarion Area Sd 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.