Enrollment
371
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Amherst, MA
Fort River Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Fort River Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 250189000039
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 81
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Fort River Elementary earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Massachusetts schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Massachusetts schools.
- #2 of 5
- public schools in Amherst · Resource Index
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.3:1
- small classes for Massachusetts
- 371
- students enrolled
Fort River Elementary has class sizes smaller than 76% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Fort River Elementary ranks #2 of 5 public schools in Amherst, MA.
School address
District: Amherst · Massachusetts
NCES ID 250189000039 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fort River Elementary compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Fort River Elementary
Fort River Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Amherst, Massachusetts, enrolling 371 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 371 students, its enrollment sits close to the Massachusetts median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by White (42%) and Hispanic or Latino (35%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 68/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 93 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Amherst spends $30,337 per pupil, 35% above the Massachusetts average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 16.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Amherst's elementary schools, it stands alongside Wildwood Elementary (314 students): Fort River Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (10.3:1 vs 8.7:1).
Amherst also operates Crocker Farm Elementary (353 students) and Wildwood Elementary (314 students) alongside Fort River Elementary.
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 River Elementary compares
Fort River Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 16% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 371 | top 58% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
371
Bigger than 43% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 24% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.9%
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
$30,337
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 93 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 41.8%
Hispanic or Latino 35.3%
Asian 10.0%
African American 7.0%
Two or More 5.9%
Largest group: White at 41.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 68.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 68.2, Fort River Elementary is more mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Amherst, which includes Fort River Elementary.
$30,337
Per student
+35%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+83%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.8%
State 65.2%
Federal 16.1%
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.
How Fort River Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crocker Farm Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Wildwood Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Fort River Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 353
- Students per teacher
- 9.5:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 314
- Students per teacher
- 8.7:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar elementary schools in Amherst
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~371 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fort River Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Fort River Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Amherst'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 River Elementary
How many students attend Fort River Elementary?
Fort River Elementary has 371 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Amherst, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fort River Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Fort River Elementary is 10.3:1, which is 16% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 34% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fort River Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Fort River Elementary is White at 41.8% of enrollment, in Amherst, MA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fort River Elementary?
Fort River Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher 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).
How does Fort River Elementary rank among public schools in Amherst?
By Resource Investment Index, Fort River Elementary ranks #2 of 5 public schools in Amherst, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Amherst on the city page.
Is Fort River Elementary a good school?
Fort River Elementary earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Massachusetts schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Massachusetts 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 Amherst?
Besides Fort River Elementary, Amherst also operates Crocker Farm Elementary (353 students) and Wildwood Elementary (314 students). See the Amherst 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.