Enrollment
191
Nebraska · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Pender, NE
Pender High School
Federal NCES profile for Pender High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 317539001489
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 24
📋 Attendance 74
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pender High School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Nebraska median.
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.7:1
- students per teacher
- 31.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 191
- students enrolled
Pender High 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 317539001489 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.7:1
vs 13.5:1 Nebraska avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.3%
vs 30.9% Nebraska avg
+1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pender High School compares with Nebraska and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pender High School
Pender High School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Pender, Nebraska, enrolling 191 students.
At 12.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Nebraska median, within a few percentage points of the 13.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 31.3% lands close to the Nebraska typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 191 students, its enrollment sits close to the Nebraska median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,003 scored Nebraska schools.
Among 215 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Nebraska schools statewide, it ranks #183, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 382 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
10.5% 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 Elementary School (242 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 High School compares
Pender High 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 | 12.7:1 | ▼ 6% | 13.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.3% | ▲ 1% | 30.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 191 | top 57% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.7:1
Leaner classes than 69% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
191
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
31.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% 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
12.7:1
students per teacher
- 6% below state mean
Top 48% in Nebraska - lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
10.5%
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 87.4%
Hispanic or Latino 6.3%
Two or More 3.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.1%
Asian 1.0%
Largest group: White at 87.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.1, Pender High School is less mixed than the Nebraska school average of 34.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pender Public Schools, which includes Pender High 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 High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pender Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pender High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 242
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
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 (~191 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pender High School's federal record.
- Compare Pender High 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 High School
How many students attend Pender High School?
Pender High School has 191 students enrolled. It is a public school in Pender, NE.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pender High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pender High School is 12.7:1, which is 6% lower than the Nebraska average of 13.5:1 and 19% 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 High School?
31.3% of students at Pender High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Nebraska average of 30.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pender High School?
The largest demographic group at Pender High School is White at 87.4% of enrollment, in Pender, NE.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pender High School?
Pender High School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Pender High School a good school?
Pender High School earns 44/100 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 High School, Pender Public Schools also operates Pender Elementary School (242 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.