Enrollment
183
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 340903005034
Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School — Salem, NJ
Federal NCES profile for Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 64
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 74
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: The Lower Alloways Creek School District · New Jersey
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)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.9:1
vs 11.9:1 New Jersey avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.6%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School compares with New Jersey 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
Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School reports 183 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 8.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% below the New Jersey state mean of 11.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 44% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the New Jersey average and 74% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 286 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding The Lower Alloways Creek School District spends $37,315 per pupil district-wide, above the New Jersey average of $29,189 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 62.1% from local sources (property taxes), 27.0% from the state, and 10.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-), 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 Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New Jersey state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.9:1 | ▼ 25% | 11.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.6% | ▼ 54% | 29.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 183 | top 10% | — | — |
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
13.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
8.9:1
students per teacher
— 25% below state mean
Top 13% in New Jersey — lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
10.4%
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
$37,315
per pupil, district-wide
— above New Jersey avg of $29,189
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Per 286 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 183 Top 10% in New Jersey — larger than 90% of 2,509 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 8.9:1 -25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.6% -54% vs state
NCES ID 340903005034
Student demographics
White 94.0%
Two or More 3.3%
African American 2.2%
Hispanic or Latino 0.5%
Largest group: White at 94.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.6
Students per counselor 286:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.4%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for The Lower Alloways Creek School District, which includes Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School.
$37,315
Per student
+28%
vs New Jersey
Avg $29,189
+91%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 62.1%
State 27.0%
Federal 10.8%
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.
Similar other schools in Salem
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School
How many students attend Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School?
Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School has 183 students enrolled. It is a other school in SALEM, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School is 8.9:1, which is 25% lower than the New Jersey average of 11.9:1 and 44% 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 Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School?
13.6% of students at Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School is White at 94.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in SALEM, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School?
Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-) 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.