Enrollment
505
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lebanon, MO
Joel E. Barber Elem.
Federal NCES profile for Joel E. Barber Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 291700000940
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 70
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Joel E. Barber Elem. earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Missouri schools.
- #6 of 6
- public schools in Lebanon · Resource Index
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.8:1
- large classes for Missouri
- 25.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Joel E. Barber Elem. has class sizes larger than 86% of Missouri schools. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Joel E. Barber Elem. ranks #6 of 6 public schools in Lebanon, MO.
School address
District: Laclede Co. C-5 · Missouri
NCES ID 291700000940 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
+23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.8%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joel E. Barber Elem. compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Joel E. Barber Elem.
Joel E. Barber Elem. is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Lebanon, Missouri, enrolling 505 students.
Class loads run heavy: 15.8:1 is larger than about 86% of Missouri schools and 23% above the 12.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 25.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 505 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 92% of the 2,313 Missouri schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 458 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Missouri schools statewide, it ranks #438, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 13/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 505 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
12.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Laclede Co. C-5 spends $9,412 per pupil, 27% below the Missouri average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Laclede Co. C-5 operates only this one school, so Joel E. Barber Elem. has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Joel E. Barber Elem. compares
Joel E. Barber Elem. on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▲ 23% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.8% | ▼ 44% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 505 | top 21% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.8:1
Leaner classes than 40% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
505
Bigger than 62% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
25.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 44% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
- 23% above state mean
Top 86% in Missouri - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
12.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$9,412
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
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 505 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
41
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.5 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 93.3%
Two or More 2.8%
Hispanic or Latino 2.6%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 93.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 12.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 12.8, Joel E. Barber Elem. is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Laclede Co. C-5, which includes Joel E. Barber Elem..
$9,412
Per student
-27%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.7%
State 49.7%
Federal 11.6%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~505 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Joel E. Barber Elem.'s federal record.
- Compare Joel E. Barber Elem. against another school. Compare schools
- Laclede Co. C-5'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 Joel E. Barber Elem.
How many students attend Joel E. Barber Elem.?
Joel E. Barber Elem. has 505 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lebanon, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joel E. Barber Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Joel E. Barber Elem. is 15.8:1, which is 23% higher than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Joel E. Barber Elem.?
25.8% of students at Joel E. Barber Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joel E. Barber Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Joel E. Barber Elem. is White at 93.3% of enrollment, in Lebanon, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joel E. Barber Elem.?
Joel E. Barber Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Joel E. Barber Elem. rank among public schools in Lebanon?
By Resource Investment Index, Joel E. Barber Elem. ranks #6 of 6 public schools in Lebanon, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Lebanon on the city page.
Is Joel E. Barber Elem. a good school?
Joel E. Barber Elem. earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Missouri 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 Laclede Co. C-5?
None reported; Laclede Co. C-5 operates only Joel E. Barber Elem. as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.