Elementary school (grades K-5) · Little Rock, AR

Jefferson Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Jefferson Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 050900000619
0/100100/10045/100
👥 S:T ratio
40
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
28
📋 Attendance
40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Jefferson Elementary School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arkansas median.

#8 of 28
elementary schools in Little Rock · Resource Index
45
Resource Index · Typical
15:1
students per teacher
22.0%
free-lunch eligible

Jefferson Elementary School has class sizes near the Arkansas median. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Jefferson Elementary School ranks #8 of 28 elementary schools in Little Rock, AR.

Enrollment

359

Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

24.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15:1

vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg

+10% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

22.0%

vs 59.2% Arkansas avg

-63% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Jefferson Elementary School compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Jefferson Elementary School

Jefferson Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school in Little Rock, Arkansas, enrolling 359 students.

At 15:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Arkansas median, within a few percentage points of the 13.6:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 22.0% free-meal eligibility runs 63% below the Arkansas average.

With 359 students, its enrollment sits close to the Arkansas median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.

Against 109 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #67.

Its student body is led by White (67%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 50/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 359 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 20.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Little Rock School District also operates Central High School (2,371 students) and Little Rock Southwest High School (2,045 students) alongside Jefferson 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 Jefferson Elementary School compares

Jefferson Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Arkansas Arkansas avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 15:1 ▲ 10% 13.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 22.0% ▼ 63% 59.2% 51.7%
Enrollment 359 top 57% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15:1
Leaner classes than 47% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
359
Bigger than 41% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
22.0%
free-lunch eligible - 63% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
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
15:1
students per teacher - 10% above state mean
Top 60% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
24.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,597
per pupil, district-wide - above Arkansas avg of $12,251
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 359 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 67.1%
African American 20.6%
Two or More 5.0%
Hispanic or Latino 3.9%
Asian 2.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%

Largest group: White at 67.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 50.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 50.2, Jefferson Elementary School is more mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Little Rock School District, which includes Jefferson Elementary School.

$14,597
Per student
+19%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 52.7%
State 26.7%
Federal 20.7%

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 Jefferson Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Central High School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Little Rock Southwest High School Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Parkview Magnet High School Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Don Roberts Elementary School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Chicot Elementary School Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Jefferson Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Little Rock School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arkansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Jefferson Elementary School's federal record.

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 Jefferson Elementary School

How many students attend Jefferson Elementary School?

Jefferson Elementary School has 359 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Little Rock, AR.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Jefferson Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Jefferson Elementary School is 15:1, which is 10% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Jefferson Elementary School?

22.0% of students at Jefferson Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Jefferson Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Jefferson Elementary School is White at 67.1% of enrollment, in Little Rock, AR. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 50.2/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Jefferson Elementary School?

Jefferson Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical 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 Jefferson Elementary School rank among elementary schools in Little Rock?

By Resource Investment Index, Jefferson Elementary School ranks #8 of 28 elementary schools in Little Rock, AR. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Little Rock on the city page.

Is Jefferson Elementary School a good school?

Jefferson Elementary School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arkansas 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 Little Rock School District?

Besides Jefferson Elementary School, Little Rock School District also operates Central High School (2,371 students), Little Rock Southwest High School (2,045 students), and Parkview Magnet High School (1,072 students). See the Little Rock School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.