Enrollment
3
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cliff Island, ME
Cliff Island School
Federal NCES profile for Cliff Island School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 230993000267
👥 S:T ratio 88
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cliff Island School earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Maine schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Maine.
- 59
- Resource Index · Higher
- 3:1
- small classes for Maine
- 3
- students enrolled
Cliff Island School has class sizes smaller than 99% of Maine schools. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Portland Public Schools · Maine
NCES ID 230993000267 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
3:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cliff Island School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cliff Island School
Cliff Island School is a small elementary school in Cliff Island, Maine, enrolling 3 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 3:1, Cliff Island School is leaner than roughly 99% of Maine schools and 73% under the state's 11.1:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 99% of Maine schools, with 3 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 90% of the 569 Maine schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment) (diversity index 0/100).
Portland Public Schools also operates Portland High School (912 students) and Deering High School (850 students) alongside Cliff Island School.
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 Cliff Island School compares
Cliff Island School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 3:1 | ▼ 73% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 3 | top 99% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
3:1
Leaner classes than 99% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
3
Bigger than 0% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
3:1
students per teacher
- 73% below state mean
Top 1% in Maine - lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$20,442
per pupil, district-wide
- above Maine avg of $20,083
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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
- 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 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Cliff Island School is less mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Portland Public Schools, which includes Cliff Island School.
$20,442
Per student
+2%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 68.1%
State 23.3%
Federal 8.7%
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 Cliff Island School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Deering High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Harrison Lyseth Elem School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Amanda C Rowe School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lyman Moore Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cliff Island School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 912
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 850
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 489
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 65/100
- Enrollment
- 470
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 470
- Students per teacher
- 9.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~3 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cliff Island School's federal record.
- Compare Cliff Island School against another school. Compare schools
- Portland Public Schools'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 Cliff Island School
How many students attend Cliff Island School?
Cliff Island School has 3 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cliff Island, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cliff Island School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cliff Island School is 3:1, which is 73% lower than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 81% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cliff Island School?
The largest demographic group at Cliff Island School is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Cliff Island, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cliff Island School?
Cliff Island School has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
Is Cliff Island School a good school?
Cliff Island School earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Maine schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Maine. 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 Portland Public Schools?
Besides Cliff Island School, Portland Public Schools also operates Portland High School (912 students), Deering High School (850 students), and Harrison Lyseth Elem School (489 students). See the Portland Public Schools 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.