Enrollment
277
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 220099000748
I.a. Lewis School — Ruston, LA
Federal NCES profile for I.a. Lewis School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 92
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
District: Lincoln Parish · Louisiana
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.0%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How I.a. Lewis School compares with Louisiana 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
I.a. Lewis School reports 277 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 65.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 4% above the Louisiana average and 25% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 277 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 3.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lincoln Parish spends $16,869 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.6% from local sources (property taxes), 33.0% from the state, and 14.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (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 I.a. Lewis School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▼ 11% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.0% | ▲ 4% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 277 | top 23% | — | — |
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
65.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 4% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 11% below state mean
Top 37% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
3.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$16,869
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 277 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
74
in-school suspensions + 54 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 26.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 46.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 277 Top 23% in Louisiana — larger than 77% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 -11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 65.0% +4% vs state
NCES ID 220099000748
Student demographics
African American 57.0%
White 32.9%
Hispanic or Latino 7.6%
Two or More 1.4%
Asian 1.1%
Largest group: African American at 57.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 277:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 3.2%
In-school suspensions 74
Out-of-school suspensions 54
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lincoln Parish, which includes I.a. Lewis School.
$16,869
Per student
-6%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.6%
State 33.0%
Federal 14.3%
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
- 1,212
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 585
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 536
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 532
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Enrollment
- 438
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
Similar middle schools in Ruston
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 I.a. Lewis School
How many students attend I.a. Lewis School?
I.a. Lewis School has 277 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Ruston, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at I.a. Lewis School?
The student-teacher ratio at I.a. Lewis School is 16.5:1, which is 11% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at I.a. Lewis School?
65.0% of students at I.a. Lewis School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of I.a. Lewis School?
The largest demographic group at I.a. Lewis School is African American at 57.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Ruston, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for I.a. Lewis School?
I.a. Lewis School has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (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.