Enrollment
639
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 421583007462
Moon Area Lower Ms — Moon Township, PA
Federal NCES profile for Moon Area Lower Ms, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 72
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: Moon Area Sd · Pennsylvania
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)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.5:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.9%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Moon Area Lower Ms compares with Pennsylvania 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
Moon Area Lower Ms reports 639 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 46.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 0% above the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 15% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 52% below the Pennsylvania average and 46% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 426 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Moon Area Sd spends $21,182 per pupil district-wide, below the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 72.9% from local sources (property taxes), 22.1% from the state, and 5.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Moon Area Lower Ms compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.5:1 | ▼ 0% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.9% | ▼ 52% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 639 | top 74% | — | — |
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
27.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 52% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.5:1
students per teacher
— 0% above state mean
Top 51% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.4%
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
$21,182
per pupil, district-wide
— below Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 426 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
50
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 639 Top 74% in Pennsylvania — larger than 26% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 46.0
Students per teacher 13.5:1 +0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.9% -52% vs state
NCES ID 421583007462
Student demographics
White 74.5%
Hispanic or Latino 7.5%
Two or More 7.2%
Asian 6.3%
African American 4.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 74.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 426:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.4%
In-school suspensions 50
Out-of-school suspensions 20
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Moon Area Sd, which includes Moon Area Lower Ms.
$21,182
Per student
-7%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 72.9%
State 22.1%
Federal 5.0%
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
- 1,211
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 621
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Enrollment
- 572
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 382
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 237
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Moon Township
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
J H Brooks El Sch
Standard public school
382 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Richard J. Hyde El Sch
Standard public school
237 students 13.8:1 students per teacher
Mccormick El Sch
Standard public school
229 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
J.a. Allard El Sch
Standard public school
209 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
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 Moon Area Lower Ms
How many students attend Moon Area Lower Ms?
Moon Area Lower Ms has 639 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Moon Township, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Moon Area Lower Ms?
The student-teacher ratio at Moon Area Lower Ms is 13.5:1, which is 0% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 15% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Moon Area Lower Ms?
27.9% of students at Moon Area Lower Ms are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Moon Area Lower Ms?
The largest demographic group at Moon Area Lower Ms is White at 74.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Moon Township, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Moon Area Lower Ms?
Moon Area Lower Ms has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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.