Enrollment
273
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Richland, PA
Fort Zeller El Sch
Federal NCES profile for Fort Zeller El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420846006611
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 60
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Fort Zeller El Sch earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median.
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13:1
- students per teacher
- 44.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 273
- students enrolled
Fort Zeller El Sch has class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Eastern Lebanon County Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420846006611 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.2%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fort Zeller El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Fort Zeller El Sch
Fort Zeller El Sch is a mid-sized elementary school in Richland, Pennsylvania, enrolling 273 students.
At 13:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Pennsylvania median, within a few percentage points of the 13.6:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 44.2% lands close to the Pennsylvania typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 273 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Among 359 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Pennsylvania schools statewide, it ranks #351, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 546 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
16.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Eastern Lebanon County Sd also operates Eastern Lebanon Co Shs (773 students) and Eastern Lebanon Co Ms (556 students) alongside Fort Zeller El Sch.
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 Zeller El Sch compares
Fort Zeller El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13:1 | ▼ 4% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.2% | ▼ 24% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 273 | top 81% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
273
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
44.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 44% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 56% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
16.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$17,621
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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 85.0%
Hispanic or Latino 11.7%
African American 2.2%
Two or More 0.7%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 85.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 26.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 26.3, Fort Zeller El Sch is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Eastern Lebanon County Sd, which includes Fort Zeller El Sch.
$17,621
Per student
-2%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 64.0%
State 27.2%
Federal 8.9%
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 Zeller El Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Lebanon Co Shs | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Eastern Lebanon Co Ms | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Elco Intermd Sch | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Jackson El Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Fort Zeller El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 773
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 556
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 505
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 203
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~273 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fort Zeller El Sch's federal record.
- Compare Fort Zeller El Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Eastern Lebanon County Sd'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 Zeller El Sch
How many students attend Fort Zeller El Sch?
Fort Zeller El Sch has 273 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Richland, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fort Zeller El Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Fort Zeller El Sch is 13:1, which is 4% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 17% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fort Zeller El Sch?
44.2% of students at Fort Zeller El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fort Zeller El Sch?
The largest demographic group at Fort Zeller El Sch is White at 85.0% of enrollment, in Richland, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fort Zeller El Sch?
Fort Zeller El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Zeller El Sch a good school?
Fort Zeller El Sch earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. 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 Eastern Lebanon County Sd?
Besides Fort Zeller El Sch, Eastern Lebanon County Sd also operates Eastern Lebanon Co Shs (773 students), Eastern Lebanon Co Ms (556 students), and Elco Intermd Sch (505 students). See the Eastern Lebanon County Sd 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.