Enrollment
572
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 480986006221
Lakewood El — Belton, TX
Federal NCES profile for Lakewood El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 55
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: Belton Isd · Texas
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.4%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lakewood El 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
Lakewood El reports 572 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% above the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. 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: 21.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 65% below the Texas average and 59% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 572 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Belton Isd spends $12,420 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 38.5% from local sources (property taxes), 49.9% from the state, and 11.5% 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 Lakewood El 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 | 16.3:1 | ▲ 12% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.4% | ▼ 65% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 572 | top 60% | — | — |
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
21.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 65% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 12% above state mean
Top 76% in Texas — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
17.8%
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
$12,420
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 572 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 572 Top 60% in Texas — larger than 40% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 +12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.4% -65% vs state
NCES ID 480986006221
Student demographics
White 69.9%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
Two or More 7.3%
Asian 4.0%
African American 2.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 69.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 572:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.8%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Belton Isd, which includes Lakewood El.
$12,420
Per student
-28%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 38.5%
State 49.9%
Federal 11.5%
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
- 2,300
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,763
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Enrollment
- 979
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 803
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 766
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
Similar elementary schools in Belton
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Chisholm Trail El
Standard public school
766 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
Sparta El
Standard public school
549 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
Southwest El
Standard public school
415 students 11.8:1 students per teacher
Miller Heights El
Standard public school
317 students 11.7:1 students per teacher
Leon Heights El
Standard public school
184 students 12:1 students per teacher
Nolan Creek School
Standard public school
109 students 13.6:1 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 Lakewood El
How many students attend Lakewood El?
Lakewood El has 572 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in BELTON, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lakewood El?
The student-teacher ratio at Lakewood El is 16.3:1, which is 12% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lakewood El?
21.4% of students at Lakewood El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lakewood El?
The largest demographic group at Lakewood El is White at 69.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in BELTON, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lakewood El?
Lakewood El 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.