Enrollment
577
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Fort Branch, IN
Fort Branch Community School
Federal NCES profile for Fort Branch Community School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 181035002230
👥 S:T ratio 28
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Fort Branch Community School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 80% of Indiana schools.
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18:1
- large classes for Indiana
- 31.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 577
- students enrolled
Fort Branch Community School has class sizes larger than 80% of Indiana schools. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: South Gibson School Corporation · Indiana
NCES ID 181035002230 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18:1
vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.7%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fort Branch Community School compares with Indiana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Fort Branch Community School
Fort Branch Community School is a mid-sized elementary school in Fort Branch, Indiana, enrolling 577 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 18:1 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 31.7% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 577 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,862 scored Indiana schools.
Among 463 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Indiana schools statewide, it ranks #407, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 577 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
South Gibson School Corporation also operates Gibson Southern High School (742 students) and Haubstadt Community School (403 students) alongside Fort Branch Community School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Fort Branch Community School compares
Fort Branch Community School on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18:1 | ▲ 13% | 15.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.7% | ▼ 36% | 49.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 577 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18:1
Leaner classes than 24% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
577
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
31.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 36% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18:1
students per teacher
- 13% above state mean
Top 80% in Indiana - lower ratio than 20% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,855
per pupil, district-wide
- below Indiana avg of $12,079
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 577 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 91.2%
Two or More 4.9%
Hispanic or Latino 1.9%
Asian 0.9%
African American 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 91.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 16.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 16.5, Fort Branch Community School is less mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for South Gibson School Corporation, which includes Fort Branch Community School.
$11,855
Per student
-2%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.4%
State 57.1%
Federal 9.5%
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.
How Fort Branch Community School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson Southern High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Haubstadt Community School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Owensville Community School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Fort Branch Community School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 742
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 403
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 396
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~577 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fort Branch Community School's federal record.
- Compare Fort Branch Community School against another school. Compare schools
- South Gibson School Corporation's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Fort Branch Community School
How many students attend Fort Branch Community School?
Fort Branch Community School has 577 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Fort Branch, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fort Branch Community School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fort Branch Community School is 18:1, which is 13% higher than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fort Branch Community School?
31.7% of students at Fort Branch Community School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fort Branch Community School?
The largest demographic group at Fort Branch Community School is White at 91.2% of enrollment, in Fort Branch, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fort Branch Community School?
Fort Branch Community School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Fort Branch Community School a good school?
Fort Branch Community School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 80% of Indiana schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in South Gibson School Corporation?
Besides Fort Branch Community School, South Gibson School Corporation also operates Gibson Southern High School (742 students), Haubstadt Community School (403 students), and Owensville Community School (396 students). See the South Gibson School Corporation district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.