Enrollment
256
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Salem, MO
Dent-Phelps Elem.
Federal NCES profile for Dent-Phelps Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 64/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 291071000360
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 78
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Dent-Phelps Elem. earns 64/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Missouri schools.
- #1 of 4
- schools in Salem · Resource Index
- 64
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.7:1
- small classes for Missouri
- 37.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Dent-Phelps Elem. has class sizes smaller than 76% of Missouri schools. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Dent-Phelps Elem. ranks #1 of 4 schools in Salem, MO.
School address
District: Dent-Phelps R-Iii · Missouri
NCES ID 291071000360 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
37.4%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dent-Phelps Elem. compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Dent-Phelps Elem.
Dent-Phelps Elem. is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Salem, Missouri, enrolling 256 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Missouri schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 37.4% lands close to the Missouri typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 256 students, its enrollment sits close to the Missouri median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 2,313 Missouri schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 434 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Missouri schools statewide, it ranks #15, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (96% of enrollment) (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 256 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 33.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Dent-Phelps R-Iii operates only this one school, so Dent-Phelps Elem. has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Dent-Phelps Elem. compares
Dent-Phelps Elem. on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 16% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 37.4% | ▼ 19% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 256 | top 60% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
256
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
37.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 19% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 24% in Missouri - lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
8.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$12,117
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
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 256 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.3 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 95.7%
Asian 2.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
African American 0.8%
Largest group: White at 95.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.3, Dent-Phelps Elem. is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dent-Phelps R-Iii, which includes Dent-Phelps Elem..
$12,117
Per student
-6%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.7%
State 33.6%
Federal 33.7%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~256 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Dent-Phelps Elem.'s federal record.
- Compare Dent-Phelps Elem. against another school. Compare schools
- Dent-Phelps R-Iii'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 Dent-Phelps Elem.
How many students attend Dent-Phelps Elem.?
Dent-Phelps Elem. has 256 students enrolled. It is a public school in Salem, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dent-Phelps Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Dent-Phelps Elem. is 10.7:1, which is 16% lower than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 32% 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 Dent-Phelps Elem.?
37.4% of students at Dent-Phelps Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dent-Phelps Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Dent-Phelps Elem. is White at 95.7% of enrollment, in Salem, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dent-Phelps Elem.?
Dent-Phelps Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 64/100 (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).
How does Dent-Phelps Elem. rank among schools in Salem?
By Resource Investment Index, Dent-Phelps Elem. ranks #1 of 4 schools in Salem, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Salem on the city page.
Is Dent-Phelps Elem. a good school?
Dent-Phelps Elem. earns 64/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Missouri 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 Dent-Phelps R-Iii?
None reported; Dent-Phelps R-Iii operates only Dent-Phelps Elem. as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.