Enrollment
734
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 484428005035
Lake Air Montessori School — Waco, TX
Federal NCES profile for Lake Air Montessori School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 67
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
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)
51.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Air Montessori School compares with Texas 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
Lake Air Montessori School reports 734 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 51.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 64.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 4% above the Texas average and 24% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 734 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Waco Isd spends $15,641 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 46.6% from local sources (property taxes), 33.9% from the state, and 19.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Lake Air Montessori School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.7:1 | ▼ 6% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.3% | ▲ 4% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 734 | top 76% | — | — |
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
64.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 4% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.7:1
students per teacher
— 6% below state mean
Top 37% in Texas — lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
13.2%
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
$15,641
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 734 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
36
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 734 Top 76% in Texas — larger than 24% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 51.0
Students per teacher 13.7:1 -6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 64.3% +4% vs state
NCES ID 484428005035
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 68.0%
White 15.9%
African American 12.1%
Two or More 3.7%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 68.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 734:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.2%
In-school suspensions 36
Out-of-school suspensions 20
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waco Isd, which includes Lake Air Montessori School.
$15,641
Per student
-9%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 46.6%
State 33.9%
Federal 19.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,885
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 963
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 786
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Enrollment
- 786
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
Similar other schools in Waco
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Bell'S Hill El
Standard public school
786 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
Dean Highland El
Standard public school
617 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
South Bosque El
Standard public school
578 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Harmony Science Acad (Waco)
Standard public school
569 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Woodway El
Standard public school
547 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Chapel Park El
Standard public school
532 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
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 Lake Air Montessori School
How many students attend Lake Air Montessori School?
Lake Air Montessori School has 734 students enrolled. It is a other school in WACO, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Air Montessori School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Air Montessori School is 13.7:1, which is 6% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 14% lower 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 Lake Air Montessori School?
64.3% of students at Lake Air Montessori School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Air Montessori School?
The largest demographic group at Lake Air Montessori School is Hispanic or Latino at 68.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in WACO, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Air Montessori School?
Lake Air Montessori School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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.