Enrollment
306
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 220153002003
Fifth Ward Elementary School — Reserve, LA
Federal NCES profile for Fifth Ward Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 25
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: St. John the Baptist Parish · Louisiana
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.2%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fifth Ward Elementary School compares with Louisiana and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Fifth Ward Elementary School reports 306 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 34% below the Louisiana average and 20% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 306 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 30.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. John the Baptist Parish spends $20,548 per pupil district-wide, above the Louisiana average of $17,870 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 62.1% from local sources (property taxes), 23.5% from the state, and 14.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Fifth Ward Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.7:1 | ▼ 16% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.2% | ▼ 34% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 306 | top 28% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
41.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 34% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.7:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 28% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
30.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$20,548
per pupil, district-wide
— above Louisiana avg of $17,870
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 306 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
18
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 306 Top 28% in Louisiana — larger than 72% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 15.7:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.2% -34% vs state
NCES ID 220153002003
Student demographics
African American 77.8%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
White 4.2%
Two or More 1.3%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 77.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 306:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 30.1%
In-school suspensions 18
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. John the Baptist Parish, which includes Fifth Ward Elementary School.
$20,548
Per student
+15%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 62.1%
State 23.5%
Federal 14.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,293
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 754
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 710
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 551
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 428
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Fifth Ward Elementary School
How many students attend Fifth Ward Elementary School?
Fifth Ward Elementary School has 306 students enrolled. It is a other school in Reserve, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fifth Ward Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fifth Ward Elementary School is 15.7:1, which is 16% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fifth Ward Elementary School?
41.2% of students at Fifth Ward Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fifth Ward Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Fifth Ward Elementary School is African American at 77.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Reserve, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fifth Ward Elementary School?
Fifth Ward Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.