Enrollment
546
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010000601685
Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School — Grant, AL
Federal NCES profile for Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 57
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Marshall County · Alabama
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
37.4%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School reports 546 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 37.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% below the Alabama average and 28% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 546 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Marshall County spends $14,887 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 21.3% from local sources (property taxes), 51.2% from the state, and 27.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 37.4% | ▼ 36% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 546 | top 63% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
37.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 27% in Alabama — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
17.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,887
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 546 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
16
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 546 Top 63% in Alabama — larger than 37% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 37.4% -36% vs state
NCES ID 010000601685
Student demographics
White 91.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
Two or More 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian 0.5%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 91.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 546:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.2%
In-school suspensions 16
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Marshall County, which includes Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School.
$14,887
Per student
+3%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 21.3%
State 51.2%
Federal 27.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 729
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 727
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 659
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 613
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 521
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School
How many students attend Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School?
Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School has 546 students enrolled. It is a other school in Grant, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School is 16.3:1, which is 8% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School?
37.4% of students at Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School is White at 91.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Grant, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School?
Kate D Smith Dar Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.