Enrollment
87
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Essex, IA
Essex Junior-Senior High School
Federal NCES profile for Essex Junior-Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 191104000683
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 2
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Essex Junior-Senior High School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Iowa schools.
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.9:1
- small classes for Iowa
- 43.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 87
- students enrolled
Essex Junior-Senior High School has class sizes smaller than 88% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Essex Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 191104000683 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.9:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.3%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Essex Junior-Senior High School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Essex Junior-Senior High School
Essex Junior-Senior High School is a small combined-grade school in Essex, Iowa, enrolling 87 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.9:1, Essex Junior-Senior High School is leaner than roughly 88% of Iowa schools and 26% under the state's 14.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 43.3% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 94% of Iowa schools, with 87 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 64 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #45.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 39.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Essex's public schools, it stands alongside Essex Elementary School (101 students): Essex Junior-Senior High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (10.9:1 vs 10.1:1).
Its district, Essex Comm School District, also runs Essex Elementary School (101 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 Junior-Senior High School compares
Essex Junior-Senior High 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 | 10.9:1 | ▼ 26% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.3% | ▲ 19% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 87 | top 94% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.9:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
87
Bigger than 9% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
43.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 19% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.9:1
students per teacher
- 26% below state mean
Top 12% in Iowa - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
39.1%
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
$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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 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 88.5%
Hispanic or Latino 8.0%
Two or More 3.4%
Largest group: White at 88.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.9, Essex Junior-Senior High 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 Junior-Senior High 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 Junior-Senior High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Essex Junior-Senior High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 101
- Students per teacher
- 10.1:1
- Resource Index
- 65/100
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 (~87 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Essex Junior-Senior High School's federal record.
- Compare Essex Junior-Senior High 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 Junior-Senior High School
How many students attend Essex Junior-Senior High School?
Essex Junior-Senior High School has 87 students enrolled. It is a public school in Essex, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Essex Junior-Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Essex Junior-Senior High School is 10.9:1, which is 26% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 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 Essex Junior-Senior High School?
43.3% of students at Essex Junior-Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Essex Junior-Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Essex Junior-Senior High School is White at 88.5% of enrollment, in Essex, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Essex Junior-Senior High School?
Essex Junior-Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Essex Junior-Senior High School a good school?
Essex Junior-Senior High School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% 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 Junior-Senior High School, Essex Comm School District also operates Essex Elementary School (101 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.