Enrollment
58
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Orient, IA
Orient Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Orient Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 192181001298
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 42
📋 Attendance 18
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Orient Elementary School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of Iowa schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Iowa.
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.6:1
- small classes for Iowa
- 57.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 58
- students enrolled
Orient Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 81% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Orient-Macksburg Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 192181001298 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.6:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.1%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Orient Elementary School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Orient Elementary School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Orient Elementary School sits near the smaller end of the Iowa enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Higher need meets a leaner resource profile
Orient Elementary School combines above-typical economic need with a Resource Investment Index in the lower part of the Iowa distribution. This is the page's clearest equity tension: the population indicated by free-meal eligibility may require more support, while the reported staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance inputs produce a comparatively lean composite. The index is not an academic grade, but the mismatch is a concrete reason to inspect each component closely.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Orient Elementary School's 32.8% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Orient Elementary School is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Orient, Iowa, enrolling 58 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 57.1% of students qualify for free meals, 57% above the Iowa average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 96% of Iowa schools, with 58 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Among 19 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Iowa schools statewide, it ranks #15, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 16/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 290 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Orient-Macksburg Comm School District spends $17,033 per pupil, 27% above the Iowa average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Orient's public schools, it stands alongside Orient-Macksburg Senior High School (50 students): Orient Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount.
Its district, Orient-Macksburg Comm School District, also runs Orient-Macksburg Senior High School (50 students).
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 Orient Elementary School compares
Orient Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.6:1 | ▼ 22% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.1% | ▲ 57% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 58 | top 96% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.6:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
58
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 57% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.6:1
students per teacher
- 22% below state mean
Top 19% in Iowa - lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
32.8%
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
$17,033
per pupil, district-wide
- above Iowa avg of $13,441
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 91.4%
Hispanic or Latino 8.6%
Largest group: White at 91.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.7, Orient Elementary School is less mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orient-Macksburg Comm School District, which includes Orient Elementary School.
$17,033
Per student
+27%
vs Iowa
Avg $13,441
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 65.7%
State 24.7%
Federal 9.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Orient Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orient-Macksburg Senior High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Orient Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 50
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 53/100
Similar other schools in Orient
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~58 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Orient Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Orient Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Orient-Macksburg Comm School District'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 Orient Elementary School
How many students attend Orient Elementary School?
Orient Elementary School has 58 students enrolled. It is a public school in Orient, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Orient Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Orient Elementary School is 11.6:1, which is 22% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 26% lower 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 Orient Elementary School?
57.1% of students at Orient Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Orient Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Orient Elementary School is White at 91.4% of enrollment, in Orient, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Orient Elementary School?
Orient Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
What other schools are in Orient-Macksburg Comm School District?
Besides Orient Elementary School, Orient-Macksburg Comm School District also operates Orient-Macksburg Senior High School (50 students). See the Orient-Macksburg Comm School District 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.