Enrollment
559
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 050004300740
Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary — Mountain Home, AR
Federal NCES profile for Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 21/100.
👥 Class size 33
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 21
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: Mountain Home School District · Arkansas
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)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
38.4%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary compares with Arkansas 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
Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary reports 559 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. 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: 38.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the Arkansas average and 26% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 559 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mountain Home School District spends $11,323 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 45.9% from local sources (property taxes), 34.8% from the state, and 19.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 21/100 (F), 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 Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.7:1 | ▲ 23% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 38.4% | ▼ 35% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 559 | top 76% | — | — |
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
38.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher
— 23% above state mean
Top 76% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
31.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,323
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 559 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 559 Top 76% in Arkansas — larger than 24% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 16.7:1 +23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 38.4% -35% vs state
NCES ID 050004300740
Student demographics
White 88.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.8%
Two or More 3.6%
Asian 2.1%
African American 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 88.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 559:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.5%
In-school suspensions 21
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mountain Home School District, which includes Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary.
$11,323
Per student
-21%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-42%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 45.9%
State 34.8%
Federal 19.4%
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
- 1,523
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 837
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Enrollment
- 546
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 300
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 52
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
Similar elementary schools in Mountain Home
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 Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary
How many students attend Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary?
Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary has 559 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in MOUNTAIN HOME, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary is 16.7:1, which is 23% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary?
38.4% of students at Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary is White at 88.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in MOUNTAIN HOME, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary?
Nelson Wilks Herron Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 21/100 (F) 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.