Enrollment
429
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Gorham, ME
Great Falls Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Great Falls Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 230606023126
👥 S:T ratio 58
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 60
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Great Falls Elementary School earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median.
- #2 of 5
- public schools in Gorham · Resource Index
- 57
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.5:1
- students per teacher
- 15.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Great Falls Elementary School has class sizes near the Maine median. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Great Falls Elementary School ranks #2 of 5 public schools in Gorham, ME.
School address
District: Gorham Public Schools · Maine
NCES ID 230606023126 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.1%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
-56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Great Falls Elementary School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Great Falls Elementary School
Great Falls Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Gorham, Maine, enrolling 429 students.
At 10.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Maine median, within a few percentage points of the 11.1:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 15.1% free-meal eligibility runs 56% below the Maine average.
Enrollment of 429 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 105 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #14.
Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 306 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
15.9% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Gorham's elementary schools, it stands alongside Village Elementary School-Gorham (392 students): Great Falls Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.5:1 vs 12.3:1).
Gorham Public Schools also operates Gorham High School (812 students) and Gorham Middle School (718 students) alongside Great Falls Elementary 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 Great Falls Elementary School compares
Great Falls Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.5:1 | ▼ 5% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.1% | ▼ 56% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 429 | top 21% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.5:1
Leaner classes than 86% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
429
Bigger than 52% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
15.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 56% below the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.5:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 42% in Maine - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
15.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$16,917
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maine avg of $20,083
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.4 FTE
Per 306 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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
White 87.6%
Two or More 5.6%
African American 3.5%
Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 87.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.8, Great Falls Elementary School is more mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gorham Public Schools, which includes Great Falls Elementary School.
$16,917
Per student
-16%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.2%
State 48.3%
Federal 7.4%
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 Great Falls Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorham High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Gorham Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Narragansett Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Village Elementary School-Gorham | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Great Falls Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 812
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 718
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 479
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 392
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar elementary schools in Gorham
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 Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~429 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Great Falls Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Great Falls Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Gorham Public Schools'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 Great Falls Elementary School
How many students attend Great Falls Elementary School?
Great Falls Elementary School has 429 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Gorham, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Great Falls Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Great Falls Elementary School is 10.5:1, which is 5% lower than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 33% 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 Great Falls Elementary School?
15.1% of students at Great Falls Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Great Falls Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Great Falls Elementary School is White at 87.6% of enrollment, in Gorham, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Great Falls Elementary School?
Great Falls Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (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 Great Falls Elementary School rank among public schools in Gorham?
By Resource Investment Index, Great Falls Elementary School ranks #2 of 5 public schools in Gorham, ME. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Gorham on the city page.
Is Great Falls Elementary School a good school?
Great Falls Elementary School earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine 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 Gorham Public Schools?
Besides Great Falls Elementary School, Gorham Public Schools also operates Gorham High School (812 students), Gorham Middle School (718 students), and Narragansett Elementary School (479 students). See the Gorham Public Schools 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.