Enrollment
460
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 220195001469
Forest School — Forest, LA
Federal NCES profile for Forest School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 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: West Carroll 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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.1:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
73.8%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Forest 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
Forest School reports 460 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 73.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 18% above the Louisiana average and 42% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 920 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding West Carroll Parish spends $14,037 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 27.1% from local sources (property taxes), 48.3% from the state, and 24.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Forest 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 | 16.1:1 | ▼ 13% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 73.8% | ▲ 18% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 460 | top 55% | — | — |
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
73.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 18% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.1:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 33% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.7%
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
$14,037
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 920 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
38
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 460 Top 55% in Louisiana — larger than 45% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 16.1:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 73.8% +18% vs state
NCES ID 220195001469
Student demographics
White 75.2%
African American 17.4%
Hispanic or Latino 4.6%
Two or More 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 75.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 920:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.7%
In-school suspensions 38
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for West Carroll Parish, which includes Forest School.
$14,037
Per student
-21%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 27.1%
State 48.3%
Federal 24.6%
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
- 523
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 500
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 227
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 118
- Students per teacher
- 23.6:1
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 Forest School
How many students attend Forest School?
Forest School has 460 students enrolled. It is a other school in Forest, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest School?
The student-teacher ratio at Forest School is 16.1:1, which is 13% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 1% 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 Forest School?
73.8% of students at Forest School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Forest School?
The largest demographic group at Forest School is White at 75.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Forest, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Forest School?
Forest School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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.