Enrollment
487
Wisconsin · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 550039001619 Charter school
Classical School — Appleton, WI
Federal NCES profile for Classical School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 19
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 76
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: Appleton Area School District · Wisconsin
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)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.3:1
vs 15.1:1 Wisconsin avg
+34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.0%
vs 38.5% Wisconsin avg
-64% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Classical School compares with Wisconsin 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
Classical School reports 487 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 24.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 34% above the Wisconsin state mean of 15.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 14.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 64% below the Wisconsin average and 73% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 2435 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Appleton Area School District spends $14,757 per pupil district-wide, below the Wisconsin average of $18,610 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.7% from local sources (property taxes), 48.8% from the state, and 11.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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 Classical School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Wisconsin state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Wisconsin | Wisconsin avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.3:1 | ▲ 34% | 15.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.0% | ▼ 64% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 487 | top 78% | — | — |
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
14.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 64% below the Wisconsin average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.3:1
students per teacher
— 34% above state mean
Top 93% in Wisconsin — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
9.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$14,757
per pupil, district-wide
— below Wisconsin avg of $18,610
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Per 2435 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 487 Top 78% in Wisconsin — larger than 22% of 2,205 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 24.0
Students per teacher 20.3:1 +34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 14.0% -64% vs state
NCES ID 550039001619
Student demographics
White 57.3%
Asian 24.4%
Hispanic or Latino 7.0%
Two or More 6.8%
African American 4.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 57.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.2
Students per counselor 2435:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Appleton Area School District, which includes Classical School.
$14,757
Per student
-21%
vs Wisconsin
Avg $18,610
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.7%
State 48.8%
Federal 11.4%
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
- 1,635
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,238
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,024
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 929
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Enrollment
- 851
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
Similar elementary schools in Appleton
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Woodland School
Standard public school
478 students 14.1:1 students per teacher
Sunrise Elementary
Standard public school
456 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Woodland Intermediate
Standard public school
316 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Odyssey-Magellan
Standard public school
214 students 20:1 students per teacher
Fox River Academy
Standard public school
150 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Appleton Bilingual School
Standard public school
139 students 18.9:1 students per teacher
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 Classical School
How many students attend Classical School?
Classical School has 487 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Appleton, WI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Classical School?
The student-teacher ratio at Classical School is 20.3:1, which is 34% higher than the Wisconsin average of 15.1:1 and 28% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Classical School?
14.0% of students at Classical School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Wisconsin average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Classical School?
The largest demographic group at Classical School is White at 57.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Appleton, WI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Classical School?
Classical School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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.