Enrollment
796
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 420008700584 Charter school
Independence Cs — Philadelphia, PA
Federal NCES profile for Independence Cs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 47
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 52
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: Independence Cs · Pennsylvania
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)
59.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.2:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.9%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
+72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Independence Cs compares with Pennsylvania 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
Independence Cs reports 796 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 59.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 17% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 99.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 72% above the Pennsylvania average and 93% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 398 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), 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 Independence Cs compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.2:1 | ▼ 2% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.9% | ▲ 72% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 796 | top 84% | — | — |
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
99.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 72% above the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.2:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 45% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
19.2%
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.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 398 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 796 Top 84% in Pennsylvania — larger than 16% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 59.0
Students per teacher 13.2:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 99.9% +72% vs state
NCES ID 420008700584
Student demographics
African American 45.4%
White 29.4%
Hispanic or Latino 19.6%
Asian 3.0%
Two or More 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 45.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 398:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 20
Similar elementary schools in Philadelphia
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Northeast Community Propel Academy
Standard public school
1,783 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Mayfair Sch
Standard public school
1,763 students 20:1 students per teacher
Solis-Cohen Solomon Sch
Standard public school
1,350 students 15.8:1 students per teacher
Mast Community Cs Iii
Standard public school
1,290 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Moore J Hampton Sch
Standard public school
1,192 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Farrell Louis H Sch
Standard public school
1,187 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
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 Independence Cs
How many students attend Independence Cs?
Independence Cs has 796 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Independence Cs?
The student-teacher ratio at Independence Cs is 13.2:1, which is 2% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 17% lower 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 Independence Cs?
99.9% of students at Independence Cs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Independence Cs?
The largest demographic group at Independence Cs is African American at 45.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Independence Cs?
Independence Cs has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) 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.