Enrollment
320
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Watertown, MA
Cunniff
Federal NCES profile for Cunniff, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 251218001998
👥 S:T ratio 64
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 55
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cunniff earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Massachusetts schools.
- #4 of 5
- public schools in Watertown · Resource Index
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9.1:1
- small classes for Massachusetts
- 320
- students enrolled
Cunniff has class sizes smaller than 88% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cunniff ranks #4 of 5 public schools in Watertown, MA.
School address
District: Watertown · Massachusetts
NCES ID 251218001998 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.1:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-26% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cunniff compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cunniff
Cunniff is a mid-sized elementary school in Watertown, Massachusetts, enrolling 320 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.1:1, Cunniff is leaner than roughly 88% of Massachusetts schools and 26% under the state's 12.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 320 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by White (57%) and Hispanic or Latino (24%) (diversity index 61/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 320 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
17.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Watertown spends $27,743 per pupil, 24% above the Massachusetts average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Watertown's elementary schools, it stands alongside James Russell Lowell (422 students): Cunniff is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.1:1 vs 10.3:1).
Watertown also operates Watertown High (761 students) and Hosmer (758 students) alongside Cunniff.
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 Cunniff compares
Cunniff on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.1:1 | ▼ 26% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 320 | top 67% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.1:1
Leaner classes than 92% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
320
Bigger than 35% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9.1:1
students per teacher
- 26% below state mean
Top 12% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
17.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$27,743
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 320 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 56.6%
Hispanic or Latino 23.8%
Two or More 10.3%
Asian 6.6%
African American 2.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 56.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 60.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 60.7, Cunniff is more mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Watertown, which includes Cunniff.
$27,743
Per student
+24%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+67%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 77.0%
State 18.0%
Federal 5.0%
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.
How Cunniff Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hosmer | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Watertown Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| James Russell Lowell | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cunniff's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 761
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 758
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 583
- Students per teacher
- 11.2:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 422
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
Similar elementary schools in Watertown
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 Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~320 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cunniff's federal record.
- Compare Cunniff against another school. Compare schools
- Watertown'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 Cunniff
How many students attend Cunniff?
Cunniff has 320 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Watertown, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cunniff?
The student-teacher ratio at Cunniff is 9.1:1, which is 26% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 42% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cunniff?
The largest demographic group at Cunniff is White at 56.6% of enrollment, in Watertown, MA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.7/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cunniff?
Cunniff has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical 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 Cunniff rank among public schools in Watertown?
By Resource Investment Index, Cunniff ranks #4 of 5 public schools in Watertown, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Watertown on the city page.
Is Cunniff a good school?
Cunniff earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Massachusetts schools. 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 Watertown?
Besides Cunniff, Watertown also operates Watertown High (761 students), Hosmer (758 students), and Watertown Middle (583 students). See the Watertown 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.