Enrollment
337
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 530141000252
Dower Elementary School — Lakewood, WA
Federal NCES profile for Dower Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 33
📋 Attendance 53
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Clover Park School District · Washington
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
77.2%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dower Elementary School compares with Washington and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Dower Elementary School reports 337 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% below the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 77.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 72% above the Washington average and 49% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 337 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Clover Park School District spends $18,954 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 13.7% from local sources (property taxes), 65.9% from the state, and 20.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Dower Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.5:1 | ▼ 19% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 77.2% | ▲ 72% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 337 | top 42% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
77.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 72% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.5:1
students per teacher
— 19% below state mean
Top 25% in Washington — lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
18.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$18,954
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 337 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 337 Top 42% in Washington — larger than 58% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 14.5:1 -19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 77.2% +72% vs state
NCES ID 530141000252
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 26.2%
African American 25.0%
White 16.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 14.2%
Two or More 12.0%
Asian 4.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 26.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 337:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Clover Park School District, which includes Dower Elementary School.
$18,954
Per student
-18%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 13.7%
State 65.9%
Federal 20.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,161
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,158
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 934
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 738
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 576
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
Similar other schools in Lakewood
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
General William H. Harrison Preparatory School
Standard public school
738 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Four Heroes Elementary
Standard public school
541 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Lakeview Hope Academy
Standard public school
540 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
Lake Louise Elementary School
Standard public school
450 students 15.5:1 students per teacher
Tyee Park Elementary School
Standard public school
381 students 13.3:1 students per teacher
Idlewild Elementary School
Standard public school
380 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Dower Elementary School
How many students attend Dower Elementary School?
Dower Elementary School has 337 students enrolled. It is a other school in Lakewood, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dower Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Dower Elementary School is 14.5:1, which is 19% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dower Elementary School?
77.2% of students at Dower Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dower Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Dower Elementary School is Hispanic or Latino at 26.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lakewood, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dower Elementary School?
Dower Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.