Enrollment
60
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Kearney, MO
Lens
Federal NCES profile for Lens, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 291645003353
👥 S:T ratio 70
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 76
📋 Attendance 33
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lens earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Missouri schools.
- #1 of 4
- elementary schools in Kearney · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 7.5:1
- small classes for Missouri
- 14.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Lens has class sizes smaller than 93% of Missouri schools. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Lens ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Kearney, MO.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7.5:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
-41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.9%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-68% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lens compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lens
Lens is a lower-poverty, small elementary school in Kearney, Missouri, enrolling 60 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 7.5:1, Lens is leaner than roughly 93% of Missouri schools and 41% under the state's 12.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 14.9% free-meal eligibility runs 68% below the Missouri average.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of Missouri schools, with 60 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,313 scored Missouri schools.
Against 53 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #38.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 120 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Kearney R-I also operates Kearney High (814 students) and Kearney Middle (591 students) alongside Lens.
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 Lens compares
Lens on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 7.5:1 | ▼ 41% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.9% | ▼ 68% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 60 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
7.5:1
Leaner classes than 96% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
60
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
14.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 68% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
7.5:1
students per teacher
- 41% below state mean
Top 7% in Missouri - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
26.7%
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
$11,205
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.0 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 86.7%
Two or More 6.7%
Hispanic or Latino 5.0%
Asian 1.7%
Largest group: White at 86.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.1, Lens is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kearney R-I, which includes Lens.
$11,205
Per student
-13%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 62.5%
State 31.0%
Federal 6.4%
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 Lens Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kearney High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kearney Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kearney Jr. High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dogwood Elem. | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southview Elem. | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lens's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 814
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 591
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 510
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 463
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 455
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~60 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~7.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lens's federal record.
- Compare Lens against another school. Compare schools
- Kearney R-I'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 Lens
How many students attend Lens?
Lens has 60 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Kearney, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lens?
The student-teacher ratio at Lens is 7.5:1, which is 41% lower than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 52% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lens?
14.9% of students at Lens are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lens?
The largest demographic group at Lens is White at 86.7% of enrollment, in Kearney, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lens?
Lens has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Lens rank among elementary schools in Kearney?
By Resource Investment Index, Lens ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Kearney, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Kearney on the city page.
Is Lens a good school?
Lens earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Missouri 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 Kearney R-I?
Besides Lens, Kearney R-I also operates Kearney High (814 students), Kearney Middle (591 students), and Kearney Jr. High (510 students). See the Kearney R-I 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.