Enrollment
346
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Fairfield, PA
Fairfield Area El Sch
Federal NCES profile for Fairfield Area El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420954006270
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 Attendance 76
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Fairfield Area El Sch earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania schools.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Fairfield · Resource Index
- 58
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.8:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 33.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Fairfield Area El Sch has class sizes smaller than 86% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Fairfield Area El Sch ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Fairfield, PA.
School address
District: Fairfield Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420954006270 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.5%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fairfield Area El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Fairfield Area El Sch
Fairfield Area El Sch is a mid-sized elementary school in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, enrolling 346 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.8:1, Fairfield Area El Sch is leaner than roughly 86% of Pennsylvania schools and 21% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 33.5% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 346 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 518 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #69.
Its student body is predominantly White (95% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 10/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 346 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance holds up well here: only 9.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Among Fairfield's elementary schools, it stands alongside Fairfield Area Ms (259 students): Fairfield Area El Sch is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.8:1 vs 11.8:1).
Fairfield Area Sd also operates Fairfield Area Hs (277 students) and Fairfield Area Ms (259 students) alongside Fairfield Area El Sch.
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 Fairfield Area El Sch compares
Fairfield Area El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 21% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.5% | ▼ 42% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 346 | top 70% | - | - |
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.
346
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 42% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 14% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
9.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$17,232
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 346 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 94.8%
Two or More 3.2%
Hispanic or Latino 1.2%
Asian 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 94.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 10.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 10.0, Fairfield Area El Sch is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfield Area Sd, which includes Fairfield Area El Sch.
$17,232
Per student
-4%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 62.5%
State 34.1%
Federal 3.5%
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 Fairfield Area El Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Area Hs | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Fairfield Area Ms | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Fairfield Area El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 277
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 259
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
Similar elementary schools in Fairfield
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 (~346 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fairfield Area El Sch's federal record.
- Compare Fairfield Area El Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Fairfield 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 Fairfield Area El Sch
How many students attend Fairfield Area El Sch?
Fairfield Area El Sch has 346 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Fairfield, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fairfield Area El Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Fairfield Area El Sch is 10.8:1, which is 21% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 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 Fairfield Area El Sch?
33.5% of students at Fairfield Area El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fairfield Area El Sch?
The largest demographic group at Fairfield Area El Sch is White at 94.8% of enrollment, in Fairfield, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fairfield Area El Sch?
Fairfield Area El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (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).
How does Fairfield Area El Sch rank among public schools in Fairfield?
By Resource Investment Index, Fairfield Area El Sch ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Fairfield, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Fairfield on the city page.
Is Fairfield Area El Sch a good school?
Fairfield Area El Sch earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Fairfield Area Sd?
Besides Fairfield Area El Sch, Fairfield Area Sd also operates Fairfield Area Hs (277 students) and Fairfield Area Ms (259 students). See the Fairfield 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.