Enrollment
506
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Philadelphia, PA
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 14/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420088907599Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 28
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of Pennsylvania schools.
- #125 of 131
- elementary schools in Philadelphia · Resource Index
- 14
- Resource Index · Lower
- 18.1:1
- large classes for Pennsylvania
- 506
- students enrolled
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary has class sizes larger than 95% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary ranks #125 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA.
School address
District: Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420088907599 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
+33% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is a mid-sized charter elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, enrolling 506 students.
Class loads run heavy: 18.1:1 is larger than about 95% of Pennsylvania schools and 33% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
With 506 students, its enrollment sits close to the Pennsylvania median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 99% of the 2,889 Pennsylvania schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly African American (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 506 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 42.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 25.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Philadelphia's elementary schools, it stands alongside Northeast Community Propel Academy (1,783 students): Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (18.1:1 vs 22.6:1).
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is a single-school charter district, so Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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 Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary compares
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.1:1 | ▲ 33% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 506 | top 43% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.1:1
Leaner classes than 24% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
506
Bigger than 62% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
- 33% above state mean
Top 95% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
42.9%
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
$20,252
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 506 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.1 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
African American 89.3%
Hispanic or Latino 5.5%
Two or More 4.0%
White 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 89.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.8, Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary, which includes Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary.
$20,252
Per student
+13%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 74.1%
State 0.1%
Federal 25.8%
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 elementary schools in Philadelphia
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Northeast Community Propel Academy
Standard public school
1,783 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Mayfair Sch
Standard public school
1,763 students 21:1 students per teacher
Solis-Cohen Solomon Sch
Standard public school
1,350 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Mast Community Cs Iii
Standard public school
1,290 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Moore J Hampton Sch
Standard public school
1,192 students 17:1 students per teacher
Farrell Louis H Sch
Standard public school
1,187 students 18:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~506 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary'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 Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary
How many students attend Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary?
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary has 506 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is 18.1:1, which is 33% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is African American at 89.3% of enrollment, in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary?
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 14/100 (lower 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 Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary rank among elementary schools in Philadelphia?
By Resource Investment Index, Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary ranks #125 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Philadelphia on the city page.
Is Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary a good school?
Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of Pennsylvania 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 Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary?
None; Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is a single-school charter district, and Mastery Cs John Wister Elementary is its only campus.
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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.