Enrollment
448
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Palestine, AR
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.
Federal NCES profile for Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 050005100832
👥 S:T ratio 28
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 10
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Arkansas schools.
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.9:1
- large classes for Arkansas
- 99.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 448
- students enrolled
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. has class sizes larger than 86% of Arkansas schools. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. · Arkansas
NCES ID 050005100832 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.9:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+32% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.3%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+68% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Palestine, Arkansas, enrolling 448 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.9:1 is larger than about 86% of Arkansas schools and 32% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 99.3% of students eligible for free meals.
With 448 students, its enrollment sits close to the Arkansas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.
Against 154 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #104.
Its student body is predominantly White (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 448 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. spends $9,177 per pupil, 25% below the Arkansas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district, Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist., also runs Palestine-Wheatley Senior High (378 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 Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. compares
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.9:1 | ▲ 32% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.3% | ▲ 68% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 448 | top 40% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.9:1
Leaner classes than 25% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
448
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 68% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.9:1
students per teacher
- 32% above state mean
Top 86% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.0%
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
$9,177
per pupil, district-wide
- below Arkansas avg of $12,251
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 448 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 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 85.5%
African American 8.3%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
Asian 1.6%
Two or More 1.6%
Largest group: White at 85.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 26.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 26.1, Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. is less mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist., which includes Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch..
$9,177
Per student
-25%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-45%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.9%
State 65.7%
Federal 14.3%
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 Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine-Wheatley Senior High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 378
- Students per teacher
- 6.2:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arkansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~448 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.'s federal record.
- Compare Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. against another school. Compare schools
- Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist.'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 Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.
How many students attend Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.?
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. has 448 students enrolled. It is a public school in Palestine, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.?
The student-teacher ratio at Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. is 17.9:1, which is 32% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 14% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.?
99.3% of students at Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.?
The largest demographic group at Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. is White at 85.5% of enrollment, in Palestine, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch.?
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (typical 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 Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. a good school?
Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Arkansas schools. 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 Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist.?
Besides Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch., Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. also operates Palestine-Wheatley Senior High (378 students). See the Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. 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.