Enrollment
258
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Damascus, PA
Damascus Area Sch
Federal NCES profile for Damascus Area Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 66/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 422497006424
👥 S:T ratio 62
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 85
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Damascus Area Sch earns 66/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 66
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.6:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 39.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 258
- students enrolled
Damascus Area Sch has class sizes smaller than 94% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Wayne Highlands Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 422497006424 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.6:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.3%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Damascus Area Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Damascus Area Sch
Damascus Area Sch is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Damascus, Pennsylvania, enrolling 258 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.6:1, Damascus Area Sch is leaner than roughly 94% of Pennsylvania schools and 29% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 39.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 258 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 2,889 Pennsylvania schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 300 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Pennsylvania schools statewide, it ranks #6, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 13/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 258 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.2% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Wayne Highlands Sd spends $22,741 per pupil, 27% above the Pennsylvania average, a better-resourced district than most.
Wayne Highlands Sd also operates Honesdale Hs (679 students) and Lakeside Elementary School (419 students) alongside Damascus Area Sch.
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 Damascus Area Sch compares
Damascus Area Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.6:1 | ▼ 29% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.3% | ▼ 32% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 258 | top 84% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.6:1
Leaner classes than 91% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
258
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
39.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 32% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.6:1
students per teacher
- 29% below state mean
Top 6% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$22,741
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 258 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 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 93.0%
Two or More 3.9%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
Largest group: White at 93.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.3, Damascus Area Sch is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wayne Highlands Sd, which includes Damascus Area Sch.
$22,741
Per student
+27%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 60.6%
State 31.6%
Federal 7.8%
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 Damascus Area Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honesdale Hs | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lakeside Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Stourbridge Primary Ctr | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Wayne Highlands Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Preston Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Damascus Area Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 679
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 419
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 415
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 408
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 143
- Students per teacher
- 9.5:1
- Resource Index
- 71/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~258 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Damascus Area Sch's federal record.
- Compare Damascus Area Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Wayne Highlands Sd'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 Damascus Area Sch
How many students attend Damascus Area Sch?
Damascus Area Sch has 258 students enrolled. It is a public school in Damascus, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Damascus Area Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Damascus Area Sch is 9.6:1, which is 29% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 39% 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 Damascus Area Sch?
39.3% of students at Damascus Area Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Damascus Area Sch?
The largest demographic group at Damascus Area Sch is White at 93.0% of enrollment, in Damascus, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Damascus Area Sch?
Damascus Area Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (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).
Is Damascus Area Sch a good school?
Damascus Area Sch earns 66/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of Pennsylvania 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 Wayne Highlands Sd?
Besides Damascus Area Sch, Wayne Highlands Sd also operates Honesdale Hs (679 students), Lakeside Elementary School (419 students), and Stourbridge Primary Ctr (415 students). See the Wayne Highlands Sd 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.