Enrollment
857
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Plymouth Meeting, PA
Colonial El Sch
Federal NCES profile for Colonial El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 421947007176
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 86
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Colonial El Sch earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Plymouth Meeting · Resource Index
- 57
- Resource Index · Higher
- 22.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 857
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Colonial El Sch ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Plymouth Meeting, PA.
School address
District: Colonial Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 421947007176 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
22.3%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-62% vs state
What stands out at Colonial El Sch
Colonial El Sch is a large elementary school in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, enrolling 857 students.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 22.3% free-meal eligibility runs 62% below the Pennsylvania average.
Enrollment of 857 puts it in the larger third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 412 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #72.
Its student body is led by White (71%) and Two or More (10%) (diversity index 47/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 429 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 5.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Colonial Sd spends $22,960 per pupil, 28% above the Pennsylvania average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Plymouth Meeting's elementary schools, it stands alongside Plymouth El Sch (612 students): Colonial El Sch is larger than that campus by headcount.
Colonial Sd also operates Plymouth-Whitemarsh Shs (1,637 students) and Colonial Ms (1,268 students) alongside Colonial El Sch.
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 Colonial El Sch compares
Colonial El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.3% | ▼ 62% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 857 | top 14% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
857
Bigger than 88% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
22.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 62% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Engagement
5.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$22,960
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially 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
- 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 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.
Student-body diversity index 47.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 47.0, Colonial El Sch is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colonial Sd, which includes Colonial El Sch.
$22,960
Per student
+28%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+38%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
How Colonial El Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth-Whitemarsh Shs | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Colonial Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Plymouth El Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Ridge Park El Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Whitemarsh El Sch | Smaller | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Colonial El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,637
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 62/100
- Enrollment
- 1,268
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 612
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 72/100
- Enrollment
- 525
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 511
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 55/100
Similar elementary schools in Plymouth Meeting
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Colonial El Sch's federal record.
- Compare Colonial El Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Colonial 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 Colonial El Sch
How many students attend Colonial El Sch?
Colonial El Sch has 857 students enrolled. It is an 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% of enrollment, 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 (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).
How does Colonial El Sch rank among public schools in Plymouth Meeting?
By Resource Investment Index, Colonial El Sch ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Plymouth Meeting, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Plymouth Meeting on the city page.
Is Colonial El Sch a good school?
Colonial El Sch earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. 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 Colonial Sd?
Besides Colonial El Sch, Colonial Sd also operates Plymouth-Whitemarsh Shs (1,637 students), Colonial Ms (1,268 students), and Plymouth El Sch (612 students). See the Colonial 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.