Enrollment
324
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Peru, ME
Dirigo Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Dirigo Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 231483323114
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 29
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Dirigo Elementary School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median.
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.8:1
- students per teacher
- 39.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 324
- students enrolled
Dirigo Elementary School has class sizes near the Maine median. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.3%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
+16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dirigo Elementary School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Dirigo Elementary School
Dirigo Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Peru, Maine, enrolling 324 students.
At 10.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Maine median, within a few percentage points of the 11.1:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 39.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 324 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 129 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #37.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 324 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 16.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Rsu 56 also operates Dirigo High School (216 students) and T W Kelly Dirigo Middle School (180 students) alongside Dirigo Elementary School.
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 Dirigo Elementary School compares
Dirigo Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 3% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.3% | ▲ 16% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 324 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.8:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
324
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
39.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% above the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 48% in Maine - lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.4%
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
$18,771
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maine avg of $20,083
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 324 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
14
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.9 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 91.0%
Two or More 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.8%
African American 1.9%
Largest group: White at 91.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 16.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 16.9, Dirigo Elementary School is less mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 56, which includes Dirigo Elementary School.
$18,771
Per student
-7%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 37.5%
State 46.5%
Federal 16.0%
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 Dirigo Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirigo High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| T W Kelly Dirigo Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Dirigo Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 216
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 180
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~324 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Dirigo Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Dirigo Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Rsu 56'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 Dirigo Elementary School
How many students attend Dirigo Elementary School?
Dirigo Elementary School has 324 students enrolled. It is a public school in Peru, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dirigo Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Dirigo Elementary School is 10.8:1, which is 3% lower than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 31% 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 Dirigo Elementary School?
39.3% of students at Dirigo Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dirigo Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Dirigo Elementary School is White at 91.0% of enrollment, in Peru, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dirigo Elementary School?
Dirigo Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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).
Is Dirigo Elementary School a good school?
Dirigo Elementary School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median. 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 Rsu 56?
Besides Dirigo Elementary School, Rsu 56 also operates Dirigo High School (216 students) and T W Kelly Dirigo Middle School (180 students). See the Rsu 56 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.