Enrollment
1,016
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Petal, MS
Petal Primary School
Federal NCES profile for Petal Primary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 280353001067
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 60
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Petal Primary School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median.
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12:1
- students per teacher
- 59.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,016
- students enrolled
Petal Primary School 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 280353001067 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
85.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.8%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-26% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Petal Primary School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Petal Primary School
Petal Primary School is a higher-need, large combined-grade school in Petal, Mississippi, enrolling 1,016 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12:1 puts it in the smaller third of Mississippi schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 59.8% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Mississippi, bigger than 93% of state schools at 1,016 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Against 107 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #16.
Its student body is led by White (67%) and African American (19%) (diversity index 51/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 1016 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
15.9% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
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 Middle School (645 students) alongside Petal Primary School.
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 Primary School compares
Petal Primary School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12:1 | ▼ 10% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.8% | ▼ 26% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,016 | top 7% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
1,016
Bigger than 91% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
59.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 26% 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
12:1
students per teacher
- 10% below state mean
Top 31% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
15.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
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 1016 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 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 66.7%
African American 19.0%
Hispanic or Latino 8.9%
Two or More 4.8%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 66.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 50.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 50.9, Petal Primary School 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 Primary School.
$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 Primary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petal High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Petal Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Petal Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Petal Upper Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Petal Primary School'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
- 645
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 636
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 632
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar other 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 (~1,016 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Petal Primary School's federal record.
- Compare Petal Primary School 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 Primary School
How many students attend Petal Primary School?
Petal Primary School has 1,016 students enrolled. It is a public school in Petal, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Petal Primary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Petal Primary School is 12:1, which is 10% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 24% 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 Petal Primary School?
59.8% of students at Petal Primary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Petal Primary School?
The largest demographic group at Petal Primary School is White at 66.7% of enrollment, in Petal, MS. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 50.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Petal Primary School?
Petal Primary School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Petal Primary School a good school?
Petal Primary School earns 46/100 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 Primary School, Petal School Dist also operates Petal High School (1,324 students), Petal Middle School (645 students), and Petal Elementary (636 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.