Enrollment
396
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sanford, ME
Margaret Chase Smith
Federal NCES profile for Margaret Chase Smith, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 231050023190
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 21
📋 Attendance 40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Margaret Chase Smith earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median.
- #1 of 4
- public schools in Sanford · Resource Index
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.7:1
- students per teacher
- 36.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Margaret Chase Smith has class sizes near the Maine median. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Margaret Chase Smith ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Sanford, ME.
School address
District: Sanford Public Schools · Maine
NCES ID 231050023190 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.7%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Margaret Chase Smith compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Margaret Chase Smith
Margaret Chase Smith is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sanford, Maine, enrolling 396 students.
At 10.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Maine median, within a few percentage points of the 11.1:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 36.7% lands close to the Maine typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 396 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 135 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #46.
Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 31/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 396 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Among Sanford's public schools, it stands alongside Sanford Pride Elementary School (383 students): Margaret Chase Smith is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.7:1 vs 11.3:1).
Sanford Public Schools also operates Sanford High School (1,115 students) and Sanford Middle School (920 students) alongside Margaret Chase Smith.
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 Margaret Chase Smith compares
Margaret Chase Smith on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 4% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.7% | ▲ 8% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 396 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
396
Bigger than 47% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
36.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 8% above the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 46% in Maine - lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.0%
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
$17,120
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maine avg of $20,083
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 396 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.3 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 82.3%
African American 7.3%
Two or More 5.6%
Hispanic or Latino 3.8%
Asian 1.0%
Largest group: White at 82.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 31.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 31.3, Margaret Chase Smith is more mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sanford Public Schools, which includes Margaret Chase Smith.
$17,120
Per student
-15%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.3%
State 63.0%
Federal 13.7%
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 Margaret Chase Smith Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sanford Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Carl J Lamb School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sanford Pride Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Margaret Chase Smith's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,115
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 920
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 436
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 383
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar other schools in Sanford
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other 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 (~396 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Margaret Chase Smith's federal record.
- Compare Margaret Chase Smith against another school. Compare schools
- Sanford Public Schools'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 Margaret Chase Smith
How many students attend Margaret Chase Smith?
Margaret Chase Smith has 396 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sanford, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Margaret Chase Smith?
The student-teacher ratio at Margaret Chase Smith is 10.7:1, which is 4% lower than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 32% 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 Margaret Chase Smith?
36.7% of students at Margaret Chase Smith are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Margaret Chase Smith?
The largest demographic group at Margaret Chase Smith is White at 82.3% of enrollment, in Sanford, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Margaret Chase Smith?
Margaret Chase Smith has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical 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 Margaret Chase Smith rank among public schools in Sanford?
By Resource Investment Index, Margaret Chase Smith ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Sanford, ME. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Sanford on the city page.
Is Margaret Chase Smith a good school?
Margaret Chase Smith earns 47/100 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 Sanford Public Schools?
Besides Margaret Chase Smith, Sanford Public Schools also operates Sanford High School (1,115 students), Sanford Middle School (920 students), and Carl J Lamb School (436 students). See the Sanford Public Schools 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.