Enrollment
337
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 263516007074
Mary Helen Guest Elementary School — Walled Lake, MI
Federal NCES profile for Mary Helen Guest Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 33
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 53
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: Walled Lake Consolidated Schools · Michigan
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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 18.2:1 Michigan avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.0%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mary Helen Guest Elementary School compares with Michigan 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
Mary Helen Guest Elementary School reports 337 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Michigan state mean of 18.2:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 5% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% below the Michigan average and 32% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Walled Lake Consolidated Schools spends $21,318 per pupil district-wide, above the Michigan average of $15,842 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.5% from local sources (property taxes), 50.6% from the state, and 10.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Mary Helen Guest Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Michigan state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.7:1 | ▼ 8% | 18.2:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.0% | ▼ 36% | 54.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 337 | top 47% | — | — |
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
35.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% below the Michigan average of 54.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 46% in Michigan — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.0%
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
$21,318
per pupil, district-wide
— above Michigan avg of $15,842
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 337 Top 47% in Michigan — larger than 53% of 3,399 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 16.7:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.0% -36% vs state
NCES ID 263516007074
Student demographics
White 56.4%
Asian 16.9%
Hispanic or Latino 13.1%
African American 9.2%
Two or More 4.5%
Largest group: White at 56.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.0%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, which includes Mary Helen Guest Elementary School.
$21,318
Per student
+35%
vs Michigan
Avg $15,842
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.5%
State 50.6%
Federal 10.0%
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
- 1,383
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,182
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,033
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 888
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 641
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Walled Lake
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Mary Helen Guest Elementary School
How many students attend Mary Helen Guest Elementary School?
Mary Helen Guest Elementary School has 337 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in WALLED LAKE, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mary Helen Guest Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mary Helen Guest Elementary School is 16.7:1, which is 8% lower than the Michigan average of 18.2:1 and 5% higher 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 Mary Helen Guest Elementary School?
35.0% of students at Mary Helen Guest Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mary Helen Guest Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Mary Helen Guest Elementary School is White at 56.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in WALLED LAKE, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mary Helen Guest Elementary School?
Mary Helen Guest Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.