Enrollment
141
Idaho · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Salmon, ID
Fern-Waters Public Charter School
Federal NCES profile for Fern-Waters Public Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 15/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 160018601114Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Fern-Waters Public Charter School earns 15/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 97% of Idaho schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Idaho schools.
- #4 of 4
- public schools in Salmon · Resource Index
- 15
- Resource Index · Lower
- 28.2:1
- large classes for Idaho
- 141
- students enrolled
Fern-Waters Public Charter School has class sizes larger than 97% of Idaho schools. Computed live against every Idaho school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Fern-Waters Public Charter School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Salmon, ID.
School address
District: Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc. · Idaho
NCES ID 160018601114 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
28.2:1
vs 17.1:1 Idaho avg
+65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fern-Waters Public Charter School compares with Idaho and U.S. medians
What stands out at Fern-Waters Public Charter School
Small campus without a staffing-size advantage
Fern-Waters Public Charter School enrolls fewer students than most Idaho schools, yet its student-teacher ratio is still on the heavier side of the state distribution. Small enrollment therefore does not translate into more teacher capacity per student here. That makes staffing capacity, rather than campus scale alone, the useful interpretation. The counselor, attendance, and program indicators below help show whether the pressure is narrow or part of a broader resource constraint.
Student support operates inside a leaner district budget
Fern-Waters Public Charter School's district reports $9,987 in per-pupil expenditure, at least 15% below the Idaho average of $12,445. That district-wide constraint gives the campus-level support fields added meaning: counselor loads, specialist staffing, and program access are being reported within a comparatively lean spending environment. F-33 does not publish this school's own budget, so the comparison describes district context rather than dollars assigned to this building.
Fern-Waters Public Charter School is a mid-sized charter elementary school in Salmon, Idaho, enrolling 141 students.
Class loads run heavy: 28.2:1 is larger than about 97% of Idaho schools and 65% above the 17.1:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 141 puts it in the smaller third of Idaho schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 98% of the 775 Idaho schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
The surrounding Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc. spends $9,987 per pupil, 20% below the Idaho average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 25.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc. is a single-school charter district, so Fern-Waters Public Charter School operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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 Fern-Waters Public Charter School compares
Fern-Waters Public Charter School on the metrics families compare, against Idaho and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Idaho | Idaho avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 28.2:1 | ▲ 65% | 17.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 141 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
28.2:1
Leaner classes than 2% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
141
Bigger than 14% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
28.2:1
students per teacher
- 65% above state mean
Top 97% in Idaho - lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Funding equity
$9,987
per pupil, district-wide
- below Idaho avg of $12,445
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Fern-Waters Public Charter School is less mixed than the Idaho school average of 36.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc., which includes Fern-Waters Public Charter School.
$9,987
Per student
-20%
vs Idaho
Avg $12,445
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 4.1%
State 70.9%
Federal 25.0%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Idaho, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~141 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~28.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fern-Waters Public Charter School's federal record.
- Compare Fern-Waters Public Charter School against another school. Compare schools
- Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc.'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 Fern-Waters Public Charter School
How many students attend Fern-Waters Public Charter School?
Fern-Waters Public Charter School has 141 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Salmon, ID.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fern-Waters Public Charter School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fern-Waters Public Charter School is 28.2:1, which is 65% higher than the Idaho average of 17.1:1 and 80% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fern-Waters Public Charter School?
The largest demographic group at Fern-Waters Public Charter School is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Salmon, ID.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fern-Waters Public Charter School?
Fern-Waters Public Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 15/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Fern-Waters Public Charter School rank among public schools in Salmon?
By Resource Investment Index, Fern-Waters Public Charter School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Salmon, ID. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking.
What other schools are in Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc.?
None; Fern-Waters Public Charter School Inc. is a single-school charter district, and Fern-Waters Public Charter School is its only campus.
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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.