Enrollment
304
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Niles, MI
Merritt Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Merritt Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 24/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 260660000470
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Merritt Elementary School earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median.
- 24
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16:1
- students per teacher
- 64.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 304
- students enrolled
Merritt Elementary School has class sizes near the Michigan median. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Brandywine Community Schools · Michigan
NCES ID 260660000470 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.5%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Merritt Elementary School compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Merritt Elementary School
Merritt Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Niles, Michigan, enrolling 304 students.
At 16:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Michigan median, within a few percentage points of the 17.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 64.5% of students eligible for free meals.
With 304 students, its enrollment sits close to the Michigan median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 559 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #332.
Its student body is led by White (77%) and Two or More (10%) (diversity index 39/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 608 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Brandywine Community Schools also operates Brandywine Elementary School (379 students) and Brandywine Senior High School (366 students) alongside Merritt Elementary School.
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 Merritt Elementary School compares
Merritt Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16:1 | ▼ 9% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.5% | ▲ 19% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 304 | top 59% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16:1
Leaner classes than 38% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
304
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
64.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 19% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 42% in Michigan - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
27.3%
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
$11,521
per pupil, district-wide
- below Michigan avg of $13,507
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
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 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 77.3%
Two or More 9.9%
Hispanic or Latino 8.2%
African American 3.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 77.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 38.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 38.5, Merritt Elementary School is more mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Brandywine Community Schools, which includes Merritt Elementary School.
$11,521
Per student
-15%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.2%
State 66.8%
Federal 9.0%
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.
How Merritt Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandywine Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Brandywine Senior High School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Brandywine Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Brandywine Innovation Academy | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Merritt Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 379
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 366
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 183
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 69
- Students per teacher
- 69:1
- Resource Index
- 15/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~304 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Merritt Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Merritt Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Brandywine Community 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 Merritt Elementary School
How many students attend Merritt Elementary School?
Merritt Elementary School has 304 students enrolled. It is a public school in Niles, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Merritt Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Merritt Elementary School is 16:1, which is 9% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 2% higher 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 Merritt Elementary School?
64.5% of students at Merritt Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Merritt Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Merritt Elementary School is White at 77.3% of enrollment, in Niles, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Merritt Elementary School?
Merritt Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (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).
Is Merritt Elementary School a good school?
Merritt Elementary School earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan 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 Brandywine Community Schools?
Besides Merritt Elementary School, Brandywine Community Schools also operates Brandywine Elementary School (379 students), Brandywine Senior High School (366 students), and Brandywine Middle School (183 students). See the Brandywine Community 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.