Enrollment
286
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Wellesley, MA
Katharine Lee Bates
Federal NCES profile for Katharine Lee Bates, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 251227002025
👥 S:T ratio 33
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 79
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Katharine Lee Bates earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of Massachusetts schools.
- #6 of 7
- elementary schools in Wellesley · Resource Index
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.8:1
- large classes for Massachusetts
- 286
- students enrolled
Katharine Lee Bates has class sizes larger than 94% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Katharine Lee Bates ranks #6 of 7 elementary schools in Wellesley, MA.
School address
District: Wellesley · Massachusetts
NCES ID 251227002025 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.8:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Katharine Lee Bates compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Katharine Lee Bates
Katharine Lee Bates is a mid-sized elementary school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, enrolling 286 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.8:1 is larger than about 94% of Massachusetts schools and 37% above the 12.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 286 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and Two or More (8%) (diversity index 41/100).
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.4% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Wellesley spends $27,059 per pupil, 20% above the Massachusetts average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Wellesley's elementary schools, it stands alongside Hunnewell (294 students): Katharine Lee Bates is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.8:1 vs 18.4:1).
Wellesley also operates Wellesley Sr High (1,262 students) and Wellesley Middle (919 students) alongside Katharine Lee Bates.
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 Katharine Lee Bates compares
Katharine Lee Bates on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.8:1 | ▲ 37% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 286 | top 74% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.8:1
Leaner classes than 32% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
286
Bigger than 30% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16.8:1
students per teacher
- 37% above state mean
Top 94% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
8.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$27,059
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 75.9%
Two or More 8.0%
Hispanic or Latino 7.3%
Asian 6.3%
African American 2.4%
Largest group: White at 75.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 40.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 40.8, Katharine Lee Bates is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wellesley, which includes Katharine Lee Bates.
$27,059
Per student
+20%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+63%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 76.2%
State 21.3%
Federal 2.5%
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 Katharine Lee Bates Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellesley Sr High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Wellesley Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Hunnewell | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Schofield | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sprague Elementary School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Katharine Lee Bates's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,262
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 919
- Students per teacher
- 8.8:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 294
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 289
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
Similar elementary schools in Wellesley
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Hunnewell
Standard public school
294 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
Schofield
Standard public school
291 students 10.4:1 students per teacher
Sprague Elementary School
Standard public school
289 students 12:1 students per teacher
John D Hardy
Standard public school
280 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Joseph E Fiske
Standard public school
278 students 13.2:1 students per teacher
Ernest F Upham
Standard public school
160 students 8.4:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~286 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Katharine Lee Bates's federal record.
- Compare Katharine Lee Bates against another school. Compare schools
- Wellesley'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 Katharine Lee Bates
How many students attend Katharine Lee Bates?
Katharine Lee Bates has 286 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Wellesley, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Katharine Lee Bates?
The student-teacher ratio at Katharine Lee Bates is 16.8:1, which is 37% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 7% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Katharine Lee Bates?
The largest demographic group at Katharine Lee Bates is White at 75.9% of enrollment, in Wellesley, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Katharine Lee Bates?
Katharine Lee Bates has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Katharine Lee Bates rank among elementary schools in Wellesley?
By Resource Investment Index, Katharine Lee Bates ranks #6 of 7 elementary schools in Wellesley, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Wellesley on the city page.
Is Katharine Lee Bates a good school?
Katharine Lee Bates earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of Massachusetts 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 Wellesley?
Besides Katharine Lee Bates, Wellesley also operates Wellesley Sr High (1,262 students), Wellesley Middle (919 students), and Hunnewell (294 students). See the Wellesley 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.