Enrollment
443
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 530114000208
Fords Prairie Elementary — Centralia, WA
Federal NCES profile for Fords Prairie Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 11
📋 Attendance 61
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: Centralia 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)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
78.3%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+74% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fords Prairie Elementary 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
Fords Prairie Elementary reports 443 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 78.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 74% above the Washington average and 51% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 443 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Centralia School District spends $17,614 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 15.4% from local sources (property taxes), 69.0% from the state, and 15.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Fords Prairie Elementary 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 | 15.4:1 | ▼ 13% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 78.3% | ▲ 74% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 443 | top 60% | — | — |
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
78.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 74% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 36% in Washington — lower ratio than 64% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.8%
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
$17,614
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 443 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 443 Top 60% in Washington — larger than 40% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 78.3% +74% vs state
NCES ID 530114000208
Student demographics
White 53.7%
Hispanic or Latino 40.2%
Two or More 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.1%
African American 0.7%
Asian 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Largest group: White at 53.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 443:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.8%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 20
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Centralia School District, which includes Fords Prairie Elementary.
$17,614
Per student
-24%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 15.4%
State 69.0%
Federal 15.6%
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
- 941
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 479
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Enrollment
- 357
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 317
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 313
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Centralia
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Jefferson Lincoln Elementary
Standard public school
357 students 14.9:1 students per teacher
Oakview Elementary School
Standard public school
317 students 15.5:1 students per teacher
Edison Elementary
Standard public school
313 students 14.8:1 students per teacher
Washington Elementary School
Standard public school
294 students 13.4:1 students per teacher
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 Fords Prairie Elementary
How many students attend Fords Prairie Elementary?
Fords Prairie Elementary has 443 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Centralia, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fords Prairie Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Fords Prairie Elementary is 15.4:1, which is 13% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 3% 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 Fords Prairie Elementary?
78.3% of students at Fords Prairie Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fords Prairie Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Fords Prairie Elementary is White at 53.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Centralia, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fords Prairie Elementary?
Fords Prairie Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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.