Enrollment
415
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Columbus, MS
Cook Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Cook Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 280120000156
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 17
📋 Attendance 62
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cook Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median.
- #3 of 8
- schools in Columbus · Resource Index
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.6:1
- students per teacher
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Cook Elementary School has class sizes near the Mississippi median. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cook Elementary School ranks #3 of 8 schools in Columbus, MS.
School address
District: Columbus Municipal School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280120000156 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.6:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cook Elementary School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cook Elementary School
Cook Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Columbus, Mississippi, enrolling 415 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of Mississippi schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 415 students, its enrollment sits close to the Mississippi median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Against 285 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #53.
Its student body is predominantly African American (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 415 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
15.2% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 28.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Columbus Municipal School Dist also operates Columbus High School (865 students) and Columbus Middle School (597 students) alongside Cook Elementary 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 Cook Elementary School compares
Cook Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.6:1 | ▼ 5% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 415 | top 50% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.6:1
Leaner classes than 70% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
415
Bigger than 50% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.6:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 40% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
15.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,239
per pupil, district-wide
- above Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 415 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 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
African American 86.3%
Hispanic or Latino 6.0%
White 4.3%
Two or More 1.9%
Asian 1.4%
Largest group: African American at 86.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.9, Cook Elementary School is less mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbus Municipal School Dist, which includes Cook Elementary School.
$12,239
Per student
+2%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.6%
State 38.2%
Federal 28.1%
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 Cook Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Columbus Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Stokes Beard Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sale Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Fairview Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cook Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 865
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 597
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 369
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 290
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 244
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~415 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cook Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Cook Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Columbus Municipal School Dist'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 Cook Elementary School
How many students attend Cook Elementary School?
Cook Elementary School has 415 students enrolled. It is a public school in Columbus, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cook Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cook Elementary School is 12.6:1, which is 5% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cook Elementary School?
100.0% of students at Cook Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cook Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Cook Elementary School is African American at 86.3% of enrollment, in Columbus, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cook Elementary School?
Cook Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Cook Elementary School rank among schools in Columbus?
By Resource Investment Index, Cook Elementary School ranks #3 of 8 schools in Columbus, MS. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Columbus on the city page.
Is Cook Elementary School a good school?
Cook Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median. 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 Columbus Municipal School Dist?
Besides Cook Elementary School, Columbus Municipal School Dist also operates Columbus High School (865 students), Columbus Middle School (597 students), and Stokes Beard Elementary School (369 students). See the Columbus Municipal School Dist 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.