Enrollment
101
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Essex, IA
Essex Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Essex Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 65/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 191104000682
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 73
📋 Attendance 58
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Essex Elementary School earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Iowa schools.
- 65
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.1:1
- small classes for Iowa
- 56.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 101
- students enrolled
Essex Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 93% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Essex Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 191104000682 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.1:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-32% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.9%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Essex Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Essex Elementary School
Essex Elementary School is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Essex, Iowa, enrolling 101 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.1:1, Essex Elementary School is leaner than roughly 93% of Iowa schools and 32% under the state's 14.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 56.9% of students qualify for free meals, 56% above the Iowa average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of Iowa schools, with 101 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 1,322 Iowa schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 32 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Iowa schools statewide, it ranks #1, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 135 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
16.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Essex's public schools, it stands alongside Essex Junior-Senior High School (87 students): Essex Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.1:1 vs 10.9:1).
Its district, Essex Comm School District, also runs Essex Junior-Senior High School (87 students).
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 Essex Elementary School compares
Essex Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.1:1 | ▼ 32% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.9% | ▲ 56% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 101 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.1:1
Leaner classes than 88% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
101
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
56.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 56% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
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
10.1:1
students per teacher
- 32% below state mean
Top 7% in Iowa - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
16.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,535
per pupil, district-wide
- above Iowa avg of $12,854
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.8 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 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 90.1%
Hispanic or Latino 5.9%
Two or More 4.0%
Largest group: White at 90.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 18.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 18.3, Essex Elementary School is less mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Essex Comm School District, which includes Essex Elementary School.
$14,535
Per student
+13%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 53.0%
State 36.0%
Federal 11.0%
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 Essex Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Junior-Senior High School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Essex Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 87
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
Similar other schools in Essex
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~101 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Essex Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Essex Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Essex Comm School District'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 Essex Elementary School
How many students attend Essex Elementary School?
Essex Elementary School has 101 students enrolled. It is a public school in Essex, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Essex Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Essex Elementary School is 10.1:1, which is 32% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 36% 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 Essex Elementary School?
56.9% of students at Essex Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Essex Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Essex Elementary School is White at 90.1% of enrollment, in Essex, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Essex Elementary School?
Essex Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (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).
Is Essex Elementary School a good school?
Essex Elementary School earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Iowa 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 Essex Comm School District?
Besides Essex Elementary School, Essex Comm School District also operates Essex Junior-Senior High School (87 students). See the Essex Comm School District 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.