Enrollment
636
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Petal, MS
Petal Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Petal Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 280353001330
👥 S:T ratio 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 83
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Petal Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13.8:1
- students per teacher
- 59.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 636
- students enrolled
Petal Elementary has class sizes near the Mississippi median. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Petal School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280353001330 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.1%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Petal Elementary compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Petal Elementary
Petal Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Petal, Mississippi, enrolling 636 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13.8:1 puts it in the larger third of Mississippi schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 59.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 636 puts it in the larger third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Among 161 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Mississippi schools statewide, it ranks #14, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (69%) and African American (16%) (diversity index 49/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 636 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.8% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 19.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Petal School Dist also operates Petal High School (1,324 students) and Petal Primary School (1,016 students) alongside Petal Elementary.
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 Petal Elementary compares
Petal Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.8:1 | ▲ 4% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.1% | ▼ 27% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 636 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.8:1
Leaner classes than 59% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
636
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
59.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 27% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 61% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
6.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$9,778
per pupil, district-wide
- below Mississippi avg of $11,990
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 636 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 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 68.6%
African American 16.0%
Hispanic or Latino 7.7%
Two or More 7.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 68.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 49.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 49.3, Petal Elementary is more mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Petal School Dist, which includes Petal Elementary.
$9,778
Per student
-18%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.0%
State 51.0%
Federal 19.0%
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 Petal Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petal High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Petal Primary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Petal Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Petal Upper Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Petal Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,324
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,016
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 645
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 632
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~636 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Petal Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Petal Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Petal School 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 Petal Elementary
How many students attend Petal Elementary?
Petal Elementary has 636 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Petal, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Petal Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Petal Elementary is 13.8:1, which is 4% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 12% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Petal Elementary?
59.1% of students at Petal Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Petal Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Petal Elementary is White at 68.6% of enrollment, in Petal, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Petal Elementary?
Petal Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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 Petal Elementary a good school?
Petal Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi 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 Petal School Dist?
Besides Petal Elementary, Petal School Dist also operates Petal High School (1,324 students), Petal Primary School (1,016 students), and Petal Middle School (645 students). See the Petal School 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.