Enrollment
423
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 020018000099
Orion Elementary School — Jber, AK
Federal NCES profile for Orion Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 21
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 47
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 →
The verdict
Orion Elementary School earns a D Resource Investment Index (46/100), with class sizes larger than 84% of Alaska schools.
- D
- Resource Index · 46/100
- 19.8:1
- large classes for Alaska
- 12.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 423
- students enrolled
School address
District: Anchorage School District · Alaska
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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.8:1
vs 20:1 Alaska avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.3%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-80% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Orion Elementary School compares with Alaska 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
Orion Elementary School reports 423 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the Alaska state mean of 20:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 26% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 12.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 80% below the Alaska average and 76% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Anchorage School District spends $17,200 per pupil district-wide, below the Alaska average of $33,240 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 27.8% from local sources (property taxes), 54.1% from the state, and 18.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Orion Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alaska state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.8:1 | ▼ 1% | 20:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.3% | ▼ 80% | 61.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 423 | top 87% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
20 smaller classes than 17% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
423 larger than 51% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
12.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 80% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.8:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 84% in Alaska — lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.3%
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
$17,200
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alaska avg of $33,240
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 423 Top 87% in Alaska — larger than 13% of 496 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 19.8:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 12.3% -80% vs state
NCES ID 020018000099
Student demographics
White 56.3%
Hispanic or Latino 20.6%
African American 9.2%
Two or More 8.3%
Asian 3.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 56.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.3%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Anchorage School District, which includes Orion Elementary School.
$17,200
Per student
-48%
vs Alaska
Avg $33,240
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.8%
State 54.1%
Federal 18.1%
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
- 1,702
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,636
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,518
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,431
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,373
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
Similar other schools in Jber
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Orion Elementary School
How many students attend Orion Elementary School?
Orion Elementary School has 423 students enrolled. It is a other school in JBER, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Orion Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Orion Elementary School is 19.8:1, which is 1% lower than the Alaska average of 20:1 and 26% 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 Orion Elementary School?
12.3% of students at Orion Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Orion Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Orion Elementary School is White at 56.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in JBER, AK.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Orion Elementary School?
Orion Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.
Is Orion Elementary School a good school?
Orion Elementary School earns a D Resource Investment Index (46/100), with class sizes larger than 84% of Alaska schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.