Enrollment
288
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Dierks, AR
Joann Walters Elementary Sch
Federal NCES profile for Joann Walters Elementary Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 050534000248
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 42
📋 Attendance 42
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Joann Walters Elementary Sch earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arkansas median.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 14.4:1
- students per teacher
- 78.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 288
- students enrolled
Joann Walters Elementary Sch has class sizes near the Arkansas median. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Dierks School District · Arkansas
NCES ID 050534000248 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
78.8%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+33% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joann Walters Elementary Sch compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Joann Walters Elementary Sch
Joann Walters Elementary Sch is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Dierks, Arkansas, enrolling 288 students.
At 14.4:1, 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.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 78.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 288 puts it in the smaller third of Arkansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.
Against 33 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #8.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 288 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 16.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, Dierks School District, also runs Dierks High School (253 students).
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 Joann Walters Elementary Sch compares
Joann Walters Elementary Sch on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.4:1 | ▲ 6% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 78.8% | ▲ 33% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 288 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.4:1
Leaner classes than 53% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
288
Bigger than 31% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
78.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 33% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.4:1
students per teacher
- 6% above state mean
Top 56% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.3%
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
$12,488
per pupil, district-wide
- above Arkansas avg of $12,251
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 288 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
18
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.3 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 80.9%
Hispanic or Latino 13.9%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 0.7%
Largest group: White at 80.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 32.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 32.4, Joann Walters Elementary Sch is less mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dierks School District, which includes Joann Walters Elementary Sch.
$12,488
Per student
+2%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.0%
State 48.5%
Federal 16.4%
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 Joann Walters Elementary Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dierks High School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Joann Walters Elementary Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 253
- Students per teacher
- 4.7:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~288 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Joann Walters Elementary Sch's federal record.
- Compare Joann Walters Elementary Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Dierks School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Joann Walters Elementary Sch
How many students attend Joann Walters Elementary Sch?
Joann Walters Elementary Sch has 288 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Dierks, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joann Walters Elementary Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Joann Walters Elementary Sch is 14.4:1, which is 6% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 8% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Joann Walters Elementary Sch?
78.8% of students at Joann Walters Elementary Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joann Walters Elementary Sch?
The largest demographic group at Joann Walters Elementary Sch is White at 80.9% of enrollment, in Dierks, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joann Walters Elementary Sch?
Joann Walters Elementary Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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).
Is Joann Walters Elementary Sch a good school?
Joann Walters Elementary Sch earns 49/100 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 Dierks School District?
Besides Joann Walters Elementary Sch, Dierks School District also operates Dierks High School (253 students). See the Dierks School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.