Enrollment
857
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 421947007176
Colonial El Sch — Plymouth Meeting, PA
Federal NCES profile for Colonial El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 57/100.
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 86
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: Colonial Sd · Pennsylvania
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
22.3%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-62% 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
Colonial El Sch reports 857 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 22.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 62% below the Pennsylvania average and 57% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 429 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 5.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Colonial Sd spends $30,740 per pupil district-wide, above the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 80.5% from local sources (property taxes), 16.0% from the state, and 3.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C), 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 Colonial El Sch compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.3% | ▼ 62% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 857 | top 86% | — | — |
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
22.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 62% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Engagement
5.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$30,740
per pupil, district-wide
— above Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 429 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 857 Top 86% in Pennsylvania — larger than 14% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 22.3% -62% vs state
NCES ID 421947007176
Student demographics
White 71.3%
Two or More 9.7%
Asian 6.5%
African American 6.4%
Hispanic or Latino 6.1%
Largest group: White at 71.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 429:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 5.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colonial Sd, which includes Colonial El Sch.
$30,740
Per student
+35%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
+58%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 80.5%
State 16.0%
Federal 3.5%
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
- 1,637
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 1,268
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 612
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 525
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 511
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar elementary schools in Plymouth Meeting
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Colonial El Sch
How many students attend Colonial El Sch?
Colonial El Sch has 857 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Colonial El Sch?
22.3% of students at Colonial El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Colonial El Sch?
The largest demographic group at Colonial El Sch is White at 71.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Colonial El Sch?
Colonial El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C) 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.