Enrollment
471
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 120096001076
Cottondale Elementary School — Cottondale, FL
Federal NCES profile for Cottondale Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 43
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 6
📋 Attendance 14
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
14.3:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.3%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottondale Elementary School 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
Cottondale Elementary School reports 471 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 32.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% 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 10% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 57.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% above the Florida average and 11% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 471 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 34.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Jackson spends $12,730 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.9% from local sources (property taxes), 51.6% from the state, and 25.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Cottondale Elementary School 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 | 14.3:1 | ▼ 22% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.3% | ▲ 10% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 471 | top 36% | — | — |
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
57.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.3:1
students per teacher
— 22% below state mean
Top 20% in Florida — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
34.4%
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
$12,730
per pupil, district-wide
— below 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 471 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
25
in-school suspensions + 23 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 14 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 471 Top 36% in Florida — larger than 64% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 32.0
Students per teacher 14.3:1 -22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 57.3% +10% vs state
NCES ID 120096001076
Student demographics
White 70.7%
African American 15.5%
Two or More 8.9%
Hispanic or Latino 4.0%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 70.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 471:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 34.4%
In-school suspensions 25
Out-of-school suspensions 23
Expulsions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jackson, which includes Cottondale Elementary School.
$12,730
Per student
0%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.9%
State 51.6%
Federal 25.6%
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
- 1,685
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 652
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 574
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 559
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 419
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
Similar other schools in Cottondale
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Cottondale Elementary School
How many students attend Cottondale Elementary School?
Cottondale Elementary School has 471 students enrolled. It is a other school in COTTONDALE, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottondale Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottondale Elementary School is 14.3:1, which is 22% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 10% lower 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 Cottondale Elementary School?
57.3% of students at Cottondale Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cottondale Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Cottondale Elementary School is White at 70.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in COTTONDALE, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottondale Elementary School?
Cottondale Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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.