Enrollment
375
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 050738000450
Forest Heights Elem. School — Harrison, AR
Federal NCES profile for Forest Heights Elem. School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 31
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 25
📋 Attendance 65
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: Harrison School District · Arkansas
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
17.3:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.8%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Forest Heights Elem. School compares with Arkansas 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
Forest Heights Elem. School reports 375 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 40.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 31% below the Arkansas average and 21% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 375 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Harrison School District spends $12,996 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 41.5% from local sources (property taxes), 38.9% from the state, and 19.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Forest Heights Elem. School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.3:1 | ▲ 27% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.8% | ▼ 31% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 375 | top 47% | — | — |
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
40.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 31% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.3:1
students per teacher
— 27% above state mean
Top 82% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 18% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.1%
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
$12,996
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 375 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.4 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 375 Top 47% in Arkansas — larger than 53% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 17.3:1 +27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 40.8% -31% vs state
NCES ID 050738000450
Student demographics
White 92.0%
Two or More 3.7%
Hispanic or Latino 3.5%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: White at 92.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 375:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.1%
In-school suspensions 9
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harrison School District, which includes Forest Heights Elem. School.
$12,996
Per student
-9%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 41.5%
State 38.9%
Federal 19.6%
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
- 865
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 843
- Students per teacher
- 6.9:1
- Enrollment
- 479
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 177
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Harrison
3 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 Forest Heights Elem. School
How many students attend Forest Heights Elem. School?
Forest Heights Elem. School has 375 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in HARRISON, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest Heights Elem. School?
The student-teacher ratio at Forest Heights Elem. School is 17.3:1, which is 27% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Forest Heights Elem. School?
40.8% of students at Forest Heights Elem. School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Forest Heights Elem. School?
The largest demographic group at Forest Heights Elem. School is White at 92.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in HARRISON, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Forest Heights Elem. School?
Forest Heights Elem. School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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.