Enrollment
546
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 530462000720
Fisher Elementary School — Lynden, WA
Federal NCES profile for Fisher Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 72
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: Lynden School District · Washington
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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.8%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fisher Elementary School compares with Washington 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
Fisher Elementary School reports 546 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 44.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 0% below the Washington average and 14% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 546 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lynden School District spends $16,819 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 21.1% from local sources (property taxes), 67.8% from the state, and 11.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), 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 Fisher Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17:1 | ▼ 4% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.8% | ▼ 0% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 546 | top 75% | — | — |
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
44.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 0% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 57% in Washington — lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
11.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$16,819
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 546 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 546 Top 75% in Washington — larger than 25% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 17:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 44.8% -0% vs state
NCES ID 530462000720
Student demographics
White 55.9%
Hispanic or Latino 36.4%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 2.2%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 55.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 546:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.4%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lynden School District, which includes Fisher Elementary School.
$16,819
Per student
-27%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 21.1%
State 67.8%
Federal 11.1%
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
- 1,002
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 705
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 468
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 419
- Students per teacher
- 40.7:1
- Enrollment
- 413
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Lynden
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Fisher Elementary School
How many students attend Fisher Elementary School?
Fisher Elementary School has 546 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in LYNDEN, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fisher Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fisher Elementary School is 17:1, which is 4% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 7% higher 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 Fisher Elementary School?
44.8% of students at Fisher Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fisher Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Fisher Elementary School is White at 55.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in LYNDEN, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fisher Elementary School?
Fisher Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) 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.