Enrollment
115
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 490027000177
Cottonwood School — Orangeville, UT
Federal NCES profile for Cottonwood School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 26/100.
👥 Class size 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 0
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: Emery District · Utah
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)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.9:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.4%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
+55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottonwood School compares with Utah 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
Cottonwood School reports 115 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 8.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 25% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% above the Utah average and 16% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 230 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 43.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Emery District spends $27,568 per pupil district-wide, above the Utah average of $12,354 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.5% from local sources (property taxes), 36.4% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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 Cottonwood School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.9:1 | ▼ 14% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.4% | ▲ 55% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 115 | top 10% | — | — |
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
43.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% above the Utah average of 28.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.9:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 30% in Utah — lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.5%
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
$27,568
per pupil, district-wide
— above Utah avg of $12,354
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 230 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 115 Top 10% in Utah — larger than 90% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 8.0
Students per teacher 19.9:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.4% +55% vs state
NCES ID 490027000177
Student demographics
White 93.0%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Largest group: White at 93.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 230:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 43.5%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Emery District, which includes Cottonwood School.
$27,568
Per student
+123%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
+41%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.5%
State 36.4%
Federal 10.1%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 614
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 224
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 221
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 215
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 200
- Students per teacher
- 23.6:1
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 Cottonwood School
How many students attend Cottonwood School?
Cottonwood School has 115 students enrolled. It is a other school in ORANGEVILLE, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood School is 19.9:1, which is 14% lower than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 25% 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 Cottonwood School?
43.4% of students at Cottonwood School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cottonwood School?
The largest demographic group at Cottonwood School is White at 93.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in ORANGEVILLE, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottonwood School?
Cottonwood School has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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.