Elementary school (grades K-5) · Indianapolis, IN

Deer Run Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Deer Run Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 24/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 180891002374
0/100100/10024/100
👥 S:T ratio
28
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Deer Run Elementary earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of Indiana schools.

#67 of 89
elementary schools in Indianapolis · Resource Index
24
Resource Index · Lower
18.1:1
large classes for Indiana
77.4%
free-lunch eligible

Deer Run Elementary has class sizes larger than 81% of Indiana schools. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Deer Run Elementary ranks #67 of 89 elementary schools in Indianapolis, IN.

School address

Enrollment

616

Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

34.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

18.1:1

vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg

+14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

77.4%

vs 49.5% Indiana avg

+56% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Deer Run Elementary compares with Indiana and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Deer Run Elementary

Deer Run Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Indianapolis, Indiana, enrolling 616 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 18.1:1 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 77.4% of students qualify for free meals, 56% above the Indiana average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 616 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 95% of the 1,862 Indiana schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 273 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Indiana schools statewide, it ranks #240, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by African American (60%) and Hispanic or Latino (32%) (diversity index 53/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 616 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Indianapolis's elementary schools, it stands alongside Lillie Idella Kitley Intermediate (1,365 students): Deer Run Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (18.1:1 vs 21:1).

Msd Pike Township also operates Pike High School (3,188 students) and Guion Creek Middle School (833 students) alongside Deer Run Elementary.

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 Deer Run Elementary compares

Deer Run Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Indiana Indiana avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 18.1:1 ▲ 14% 15.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 77.4% ▲ 56% 49.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 616 top 26% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

18.1:1
Leaner classes than 24% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
616
Bigger than 74% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
77.4%
free-lunch eligible - 56% above the Indiana average of 49.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher - 14% above state mean
Top 81% in Indiana - lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,198
per pupil, district-wide - above Indiana avg of $12,079
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 616 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 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 60.1%
Hispanic or Latino 32.0%
Two or More 4.5%
White 2.6%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: African American at 60.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 53.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 53.4, Deer Run Elementary is more mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Msd Pike Township, which includes Deer Run Elementary.

$13,198
Per student
+9%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.1%
State 58.1%
Federal 12.8%

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 Deer Run Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Pike High School Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Guion Creek Middle School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Snacks Crossing Elementary School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
New Augusta Public Academy - North Similar size Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Lincoln Middle School Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Deer Run Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Msd Pike Township · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Indianapolis

6 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 Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Deer Run Elementary's federal record.

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 Deer Run Elementary

How many students attend Deer Run Elementary?

Deer Run Elementary has 616 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Indianapolis, IN.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Deer Run Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Deer Run Elementary is 18.1:1, which is 14% higher than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Deer Run Elementary?

77.4% of students at Deer Run Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Deer Run Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Deer Run Elementary is African American at 60.1% of enrollment, in Indianapolis, IN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 53.4/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Deer Run Elementary?

Deer Run Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (lower 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 Deer Run Elementary rank among elementary schools in Indianapolis?

By Resource Investment Index, Deer Run Elementary ranks #67 of 89 elementary schools in Indianapolis, IN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Indianapolis on the city page.

Is Deer Run Elementary a good school?

Deer Run Elementary earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of Indiana 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 Msd Pike Township?

Besides Deer Run Elementary, Msd Pike Township also operates Pike High School (3,188 students), Guion Creek Middle School (833 students), and Snacks Crossing Elementary School (793 students). See the Msd Pike Township district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.