Enrollment
58
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Swanville, ME
Kermit S Nickerson School
Federal NCES profile for Kermit S Nickerson School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 231482223192
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 31
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Kermit S Nickerson School earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median.
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.6:1
- students per teacher
- 55.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 58
- students enrolled
Kermit S Nickerson School has class sizes near the Maine median. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.6:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.0%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
+62% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kermit S Nickerson School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Kermit S Nickerson School
Kermit S Nickerson School is a higher-need, small elementary school in Swanville, Maine, enrolling 58 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 11.6:1 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 55.0% of students qualify for free meals, 62% above the Maine average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 92% of Maine schools, with 58 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 569 scored Maine schools.
Among 21 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Maine schools statewide, it ranks #3, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (95% of enrollment) (diversity index 10/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Rsu 71 also operates Belfast Area High School (476 students) and Troy a Howard Middle School (330 students) alongside Kermit S Nickerson School.
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 Kermit S Nickerson School compares
Kermit S Nickerson School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.6:1 | ▲ 5% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.0% | ▲ 62% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 58 | top 92% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.6:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
58
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 62% above the Maine average of 34.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.6:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 64% in Maine - lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
27.6%
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
$20,461
per pupil, district-wide
- above Maine avg of $20,083
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 94.8%
Two or More 5.2%
Largest group: White at 94.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 9.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 9.9, Kermit S Nickerson School is less mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 71, which includes Kermit S Nickerson School.
$20,461
Per student
+2%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 54.8%
State 42.6%
Federal 2.6%
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.
How Kermit S Nickerson School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast Area High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Troy a Howard Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Captain Albert W. Stevens School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Ames Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Belfast School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Kermit S Nickerson School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 476
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 330
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 232
- Students per teacher
- 8.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 122
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 99
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~58 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Kermit S Nickerson School's federal record.
- Compare Kermit S Nickerson School against another school. Compare schools
- Rsu 71'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 Kermit S Nickerson School
How many students attend Kermit S Nickerson School?
Kermit S Nickerson School has 58 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Swanville, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kermit S Nickerson School?
The student-teacher ratio at Kermit S Nickerson School is 11.6:1, which is 5% higher than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 26% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kermit S Nickerson School?
55.0% of students at Kermit S Nickerson School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kermit S Nickerson School?
The largest demographic group at Kermit S Nickerson School is White at 94.8% of enrollment, in Swanville, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kermit S Nickerson School?
Kermit S Nickerson School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher 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).
Is Kermit S Nickerson School a good school?
Kermit S Nickerson School earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine 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 Rsu 71?
Besides Kermit S Nickerson School, Rsu 71 also operates Belfast Area High School (476 students), Troy a Howard Middle School (330 students), and Captain Albert W. Stevens School (232 students). See the Rsu 71 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.