Other / mixed grade configuration · Elizabeth, NJ

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50

Federal NCES profile for Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 340459000467
0/100100/10037/100
👥 S:T ratio
44
🌟 Gifted program
30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of New Jersey schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most New Jersey schools.

#6 of 17
schools in Elizabeth · Resource Index
37
Resource Index · Typical
13.9:1
large classes for New Jersey
50.3%
free-lunch eligible

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 has class sizes larger than 85% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 ranks #6 of 17 schools in Elizabeth, NJ.

Enrollment

306

New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.9:1

vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg

+18% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

50.3%

vs 29.6% New Jersey avg

+70% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, enrolling 306 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13.9:1 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 50.3% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 306 puts it in the smaller third of New Jersey schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.

Among 201 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need New Jersey schools statewide, it ranks #172, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (89% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 21/100).

Elizabeth Public Schools also operates John E. Dwyer Technology Academy (1,348 students) and Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. Health & Public Safety Academy (1,272 students) alongside Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50.

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 Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 compares

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs New Jersey New Jersey avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.9:1 ▲ 18% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 50.3% ▲ 70% 29.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 306 top 73% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.9:1
Leaner classes than 58% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
306
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
50.3%
free-lunch eligible - 70% above the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher - 18% above state mean
Top 85% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Funding equity
$24,380
per pupil, district-wide - below New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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

Hispanic or Latino 88.6%
African American 5.6%
White 4.6%
Asian 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 21.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 21.0, Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 is less mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Elizabeth Public Schools, which includes Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50.

$24,380
Per student
-2%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+47%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.8%
State 80.6%
Federal 8.7%

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 Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
John E. Dwyer Technology Academy Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. Health & Public Safety Academy Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Elizabeth High School - Frank J Cicarell Academy Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
William F. Halloran School No.22 Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Elizabeth Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50's federal record.

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 Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50

How many students attend Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50?

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 has 306 students enrolled. It is a public school in Elizabeth, NJ.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50?

The student-teacher ratio at Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 is 13.9:1, which is 18% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50?

50.3% of students at Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50?

The largest demographic group at Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 is Hispanic or Latino at 88.6% of enrollment, in Elizabeth, NJ.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50?

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.

How does Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 rank among schools in Elizabeth?

By Resource Investment Index, Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 ranks #6 of 17 schools in Elizabeth, NJ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Elizabeth on the city page.

Is Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 a good school?

Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50 earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of New Jersey schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most New Jersey 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 Elizabeth Public Schools?

Besides Frances C. Smith Early Childhood Center No 50, Elizabeth Public Schools also operates John E. Dwyer Technology Academy (1,348 students), Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. Health & Public Safety Academy (1,272 students), and Elizabeth High School - Frank J Cicarell Academy (1,268 students). See the Elizabeth Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.