Enrollment
489
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 120144001451
Columbia Elementary — Orlando, FL
Federal NCES profile for Columbia Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 17
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
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)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.7%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbia Elementary compares with Florida 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
Columbia Elementary reports 489 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 32.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 0% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 47.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 8% below the Florida average and 8% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 489 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Orange spends $13,040 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.2% from local sources (property taxes), 28.8% from the state, and 18.0% 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 Columbia Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.9:1 | ▼ 13% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.7% | ▼ 8% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 489 | top 38% | — | — |
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
47.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 8% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 39% in Florida — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
33.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,040
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 489 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 489 Top 38% in Florida — larger than 62% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 32.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 47.7% -8% vs state
NCES ID 120144001451
Student demographics
White 45.4%
Hispanic or Latino 37.2%
African American 6.5%
Asian 5.7%
Two or More 3.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: White at 45.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 489:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.1%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orange, which includes Columbia Elementary.
$13,040
Per student
+2%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.2%
State 28.8%
Federal 18.0%
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
- 3,446
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 3,383
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,277
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 3,239
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,217
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
Similar other schools in Orlando
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Timber Creek High
Standard public school
3,383 students 21.8:1 students per teacher
Jones High
Standard public school
1,653 students 24.2:1 students per teacher
Orlando Science Middle High Charter
Standard public school
1,591 students 19:1 students per teacher
Laureate Park Elementary
Standard public school
1,220 students 16:1 students per teacher
Audubon Park School
Standard public school
1,184 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Sun Blaze Elementary
Standard public school
1,150 students 17.8:1 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 Columbia Elementary
How many students attend Columbia Elementary?
Columbia Elementary has 489 students enrolled. It is a other school in ORLANDO, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbia Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbia Elementary is 15.9:1, which is 13% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 0% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Columbia Elementary?
47.7% of students at Columbia Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Columbia Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Columbia Elementary is White at 45.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in ORLANDO, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbia Elementary?
Columbia Elementary 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.