Enrollment
242
Nebraska · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Pender, NE
Pender Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Pender Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 317539001490
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 3
📋 Attendance 74
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pender Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Nebraska median.
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.1:1
- students per teacher
- 33.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 242
- students enrolled
Pender Elementary School has class sizes near the Nebraska median. Computed live against every Nebraska school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Pender Public Schools · Nebraska
NCES ID 317539001490 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.1:1
vs 13.5:1 Nebraska avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.3%
vs 30.9% Nebraska avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pender Elementary School compares with Nebraska and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pender Elementary School
Pender Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Pender, Nebraska, enrolling 242 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Nebraska schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 33.3% lands close to the Nebraska typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 242 students, its enrollment sits close to the Nebraska median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,003 scored Nebraska schools.
Against 211 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #136.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 484 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
10.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district, Pender Public Schools, also runs Pender High School (191 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 Pender Elementary School compares
Pender Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Nebraska and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Nebraska | Nebraska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.1:1 | ▼ 10% | 13.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.3% | ▲ 8% | 30.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 242 | top 50% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.1:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
242
Bigger than 24% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 8% above the Nebraska average of 30.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.1:1
students per teacher
- 10% below state mean
Top 40% in Nebraska - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
10.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$15,496
per pupil, district-wide
- below Nebraska avg of $17,680
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 80.6%
Hispanic or Latino 13.6%
Two or More 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
African American 0.4%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 80.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.0, Pender Elementary School is about as mixed as the Nebraska school average of 34.9.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pender Public Schools, which includes Pender Elementary School.
$15,496
Per student
-12%
vs Nebraska
Avg $17,680
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 73.8%
State 18.5%
Federal 7.6%
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 Pender Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pender High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pender Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 191
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Nebraska, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~242 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pender Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Pender Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Pender Public Schools'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 Pender Elementary School
How many students attend Pender Elementary School?
Pender Elementary School has 242 students enrolled. It is a public school in Pender, NE.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pender Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pender Elementary School is 12.1:1, which is 10% lower than the Nebraska average of 13.5:1 and 23% 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 Pender Elementary School?
33.3% of students at Pender Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Nebraska average of 30.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pender Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Pender Elementary School is White at 80.6% of enrollment, in Pender, NE.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pender Elementary School?
Pender Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher 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 Pender Elementary School a good school?
Pender Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Nebraska median. 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 Pender Public Schools?
Besides Pender Elementary School, Pender Public Schools also operates Pender High School (191 students). See the Pender Public Schools 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.