Enrollment
306
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 200717001192
Hesston Elem — Hesston, KS
Federal NCES profile for Hesston Elem, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 67
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.9:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
+17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.1%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hesston Elem compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Hesston Elem reports 306 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% above the Kansas state mean of 14.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 6% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% below the Kansas average and 65% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 306 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hesston spends $12,382 per pupil district-wide, below the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.0% from local sources (property taxes), 74.5% from the state, and 6.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Hesston Elem compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.9:1 | ▲ 17% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.1% | ▼ 58% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 306 | top 53% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
18.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% below the Kansas average of 42.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.9:1
students per teacher
— 17% above state mean
Top 88% in Kansas — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$12,382
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kansas avg of $17,342
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 306 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
Enrollment 306 Top 53% in Kansas — larger than 47% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 16.9:1 +17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.1% -58% vs state
NCES ID 200717001192
Student demographics
White 82.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
Two or More 4.9%
Asian 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
African American 0.7%
Largest group: White at 82.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 306:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hesston, which includes Hesston Elem.
$12,382
Per student
-29%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.0%
State 74.5%
Federal 6.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 274
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 273
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Hesston Elem
How many students attend Hesston Elem?
Hesston Elem has 306 students enrolled. It is a other school in Hesston, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hesston Elem?
The student-teacher ratio at Hesston Elem is 16.9:1, which is 17% higher than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hesston Elem?
18.1% of students at Hesston Elem are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hesston Elem?
The largest demographic group at Hesston Elem is White at 82.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Hesston, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hesston Elem?
Hesston Elem has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.