Enrollment
130
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 200507001340
Highland Elem — Columbus, KS
Federal NCES profile for Highland Elem, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 71
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)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
52.3%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highland 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
Highland Elem reports 130 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 8.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 52.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 22% above the Kansas average and 1% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 260 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Columbus spends $18,040 per pupil district-wide, above the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.3% from local sources (property taxes), 70.7% from the state, and 6.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), 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 Highland 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 | 16.3:1 | ▲ 13% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 52.3% | ▲ 22% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 130 | top 21% | — | — |
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
52.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 22% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 13% above state mean
Top 83% in Kansas — lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
11.5%
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
$18,040
per pupil, district-wide
— above Kansas avg of $17,342
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 260 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 130 Top 21% in Kansas — larger than 79% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 8.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 +13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 52.3% +22% vs state
NCES ID 200507001340
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 260:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.5%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbus, which includes Highland Elem.
$18,040
Per student
+4%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 70.7%
Federal 6.9%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 438
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 348
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 208
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Columbus
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Highland Elem
How many students attend Highland Elem?
Highland Elem has 130 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Columbus, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Elem?
The student-teacher ratio at Highland Elem is 16.3:1, which is 13% higher than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highland Elem?
52.3% of students at Highland Elem are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highland Elem?
Highland Elem has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.