Enrollment
521
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Jackson, MS
Joel E. Smilow Prep
Federal NCES profile for Joel E. Smilow Prep, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 280019201471Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 46
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Joel E. Smilow Prep earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi schools.
- #7 of 10
- elementary schools in Jackson · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.4:1
- students per teacher
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Joel E. Smilow Prep has class sizes near the Mississippi median. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Joel E. Smilow Prep ranks #7 of 10 elementary schools in Jackson, MS.
School address
District: Joel E. Smillow Prep · Mississippi
NCES ID 280019201471 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.4:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joel E. Smilow Prep compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Joel E. Smilow Prep
Joel E. Smilow Prep is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter elementary school in Jackson, Mississippi, enrolling 521 students.
At 13.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Mississippi median, within a few percentage points of the 13.3:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 521 puts it in the larger third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Against 225 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #129.
Its student body is predominantly African American (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 2/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 28.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Jackson's elementary schools, it stands alongside Gary Road Intermediate School (680 students): Joel E. Smilow Prep is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.4:1 vs 14.5:1).
Joel E. Smillow Prep is a single-school charter district, so Joel E. Smilow Prep operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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. Smilow Prep compares
Joel E. Smilow Prep on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.4:1 | ▲ 1% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 521 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.4:1
Leaner classes than 63% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
521
Bigger than 64% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.4:1
students per teacher
- 1% above state mean
Top 53% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
24.6%
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
$10,777
per pupil, district-wide
- below Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 81 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.5 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
African American 98.8%
Two or More 0.6%
Hispanic or Latino 0.4%
White 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 98.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 2.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 2.4, Joel E. Smilow Prep is less mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Joel E. Smillow Prep, which includes Joel E. Smilow Prep.
$10,777
Per student
-10%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.7%
State 40.6%
Federal 28.7%
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.
Similar elementary schools in Jackson
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Gary Road Intermediate School
Standard public school
680 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Ambition Preparatory Charter School
Standard public school
563 students 23.5:1 students per teacher
Joel E Smilow Collegiate
Standard public school
547 students 14.8:1 students per teacher
Revive Collegiate
Standard public school
367 students 21.6:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~521 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Joel E. Smilow Prep's federal record.
- Compare Joel E. Smilow Prep against another school. Compare schools
- Joel E. Smillow Prep'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. Smilow Prep
How many students attend Joel E. Smilow Prep?
Joel E. Smilow Prep has 521 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Jackson, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joel E. Smilow Prep?
The student-teacher ratio at Joel E. Smilow Prep is 13.4:1, which is 1% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 15% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Joel E. Smilow Prep?
100.0% of students at Joel E. Smilow Prep are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joel E. Smilow Prep?
The largest demographic group at Joel E. Smilow Prep is African American at 98.8% of enrollment, in Jackson, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joel E. Smilow Prep?
Joel E. Smilow Prep has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Joel E. Smilow Prep rank among elementary schools in Jackson?
By Resource Investment Index, Joel E. Smilow Prep ranks #7 of 10 elementary schools in Jackson, MS. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Jackson on the city page.
Is Joel E. Smilow Prep a good school?
Joel E. Smilow Prep earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi 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 Joel E. Smillow Prep?
None; Joel E. Smillow Prep is a single-school charter district, and Joel E. Smilow Prep is its only campus.
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.