Enrollment
842
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Drums, PA
Drums El/Ms
Federal NCES profile for Drums El/Ms, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 421170000547
👥 S:T ratio 31
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 17
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Drums El/Ms earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 92% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 17.2:1
- large classes for Pennsylvania
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 842
- students enrolled
Drums El/Ms has class sizes larger than 92% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Hazleton Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 421170000547 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
49.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.2:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
+26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
+72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Drums El/Ms compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Drums El/Ms
Drums El/Ms is a high-poverty, large elementary school in Drums, Pennsylvania, enrolling 842 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.2:1 is larger than about 92% of Pennsylvania schools and 26% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 100.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 842 puts it in the larger third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 93% of the 2,889 Pennsylvania schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Against 327 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #230.
Its student body is led by White (63%) and Hispanic or Latino (30%) (diversity index 52/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 842 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Hazleton Area Sd spends $12,740 per pupil, 29% below the Pennsylvania average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 17.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Hazleton Area Sd also operates Hazleton Area Hs (4,071 students) and Heights Terrace El/Ms (1,236 students) alongside Drums El/Ms.
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 Drums El/Ms compares
Drums El/Ms on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.2:1 | ▲ 26% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 72% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 842 | top 14% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.2:1
Leaner classes than 29% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
842
Bigger than 87% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 72% above the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.2:1
students per teacher
- 26% above state mean
Top 92% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
33.3%
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
$12,740
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
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 842 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.5 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 62.5%
Hispanic or Latino 29.7%
African American 3.1%
Two or More 2.9%
Asian 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 62.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 51.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 51.9, Drums El/Ms is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hazleton Area Sd, which includes Drums El/Ms.
$12,740
Per student
-29%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.2%
State 44.4%
Federal 17.4%
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 Drums El/Ms Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hazleton Area Hs | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Heights Terrace El/Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Maple Manor El/Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Hazleton El/Ms | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Freeland El/Ms | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Drums El/Ms's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,071
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 1,236
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 1,092
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 1,023
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 991
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
Similar elementary 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 (~842 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Drums El/Ms's federal record.
- Compare Drums El/Ms against another school. Compare schools
- Hazleton Area 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 Drums El/Ms
How many students attend Drums El/Ms?
Drums El/Ms has 842 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Drums, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Drums El/Ms?
The student-teacher ratio at Drums El/Ms is 17.2:1, which is 26% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 10% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Drums El/Ms?
100.0% of students at Drums El/Ms are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Drums El/Ms?
The largest demographic group at Drums El/Ms is White at 62.5% of enrollment, in Drums, PA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Drums El/Ms?
Drums El/Ms has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (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).
Is Drums El/Ms a good school?
Drums El/Ms earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 92% 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 Hazleton Area Sd?
Besides Drums El/Ms, Hazleton Area Sd also operates Hazleton Area Hs (4,071 students), Heights Terrace El/Ms (1,236 students), and Maple Manor El/Ms (1,092 students). See the Hazleton Area 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.