Elementary school (grades K-5) · Garden City, KS

Jennie Barker Elem

Federal NCES profile for Jennie Barker Elem, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 200639001177
0/100100/10050/100
👥 S:T ratio
35
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
35
📋 Attendance
60
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Jennie Barker Elem earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 83% of Kansas schools.

#4 of 13
elementary schools in Garden City · Resource Index
50
Resource Index · Higher
16.3:1
large classes for Kansas
30.3%
free-lunch eligible

Jennie Barker Elem has class sizes larger than 83% of Kansas schools. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Jennie Barker Elem ranks #4 of 13 elementary schools in Garden City, KS.

School address

Enrollment

163

Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

10.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.3:1

vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg

+18% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

30.3%

vs 42.7% Kansas avg

-29% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Jennie Barker Elem compares with Kansas 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 Jennie Barker Elem

Jennie Barker Elem is a mid-sized elementary school in Garden City, Kansas, enrolling 163 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Kansas schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 30.3% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 163 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,346 scored Kansas schools.

Against 183 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #98.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (52%) and White (43%) (diversity index 54/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 326 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

16.0% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Among Garden City's elementary schools, it stands alongside Kenneth Henderson Middle (425 students): Jennie Barker Elem is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.3:1 vs 14.7:1).

Garden City also operates Garden City High School (1,946 students) and Jennie Wilson Elem (796 students) alongside Jennie Barker Elem.

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 Jennie Barker Elem compares

Jennie Barker Elem on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Kansas Kansas avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.3:1 ▲ 18% 13.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 30.3% ▼ 29% 42.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 163 top 73% - -

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

16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
163
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
30.3%
free-lunch eligible - 29% 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
16.3:1
students per teacher - 18% above state mean
Top 83% in Kansas - lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,807
per pupil, district-wide - below Kansas avg of $15,487
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.1 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

Hispanic or Latino 52.1%
White 42.9%
Asian 2.5%
Two or More 2.5%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 52.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 54.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 54.3, Jennie Barker Elem is more mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Garden City, which includes Jennie Barker Elem.

$12,807
Per student
-17%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 68.1%
Federal 9.6%

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 Jennie Barker Elem Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Garden City High School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Jennie Wilson Elem Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Horace J. Good Middle School Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Kenneth Henderson Middle Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Charles O Stones Intermediate Ctr Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Jennie Barker Elem's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Garden City · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Garden City

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

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

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Jennie Barker Elem'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 Jennie Barker Elem

How many students attend Jennie Barker Elem?

Jennie Barker Elem has 163 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Garden City, KS.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Jennie Barker Elem?

The student-teacher ratio at Jennie Barker Elem is 16.3:1, which is 18% higher than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Jennie Barker Elem?

30.3% of students at Jennie Barker Elem are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Jennie Barker Elem?

The largest demographic group at Jennie Barker Elem is Hispanic or Latino at 52.1% of enrollment, in Garden City, KS. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Jennie Barker Elem?

Jennie Barker Elem has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher 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 Jennie Barker Elem rank among elementary schools in Garden City?

By Resource Investment Index, Jennie Barker Elem ranks #4 of 13 elementary schools in Garden City, KS. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Garden City on the city page.

Is Jennie Barker Elem a good school?

Jennie Barker Elem earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 83% of Kansas schools. 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 Garden City?

Besides Jennie Barker Elem, Garden City also operates Garden City High School (1,946 students), Jennie Wilson Elem (796 students), and Horace J. Good Middle School (583 students). See the Garden City 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.