Enrollment
473
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Royal Center, IN
Pioneer Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Pioneer Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 180894001490
👥 S:T ratio 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 5
📋 Attendance 79
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pioneer Elementary School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Indiana median.
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.3:1
- students per teacher
- 46.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 473
- students enrolled
Pioneer Elementary School has class sizes near the Indiana median. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Pioneer Regional School Corp · Indiana
NCES ID 180894001490 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
46.8%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pioneer Elementary School compares with Indiana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pioneer Elementary School
Pioneer Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Royal Center, Indiana, enrolling 473 students.
At 15.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Indiana median, within a few percentage points of the 15.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 46.8% lands close to the Indiana typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 473 students, its enrollment sits close to the Indiana median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,862 scored Indiana schools.
Against 589 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #248.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 473 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 8.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Among Royal Center's public schools, it stands alongside Pioneer Jr-Sr High School (425 students): Pioneer Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (15.3:1 vs 12.5:1).
Its district, Pioneer Regional School Corp, also runs Pioneer Jr-Sr High School (425 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 Pioneer Elementary School compares
Pioneer Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▼ 4% | 15.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 46.8% | ▼ 5% | 49.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 473 | top 46% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.3:1
Leaner classes than 44% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
473
Bigger than 58% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
46.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 5% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 50% in Indiana - lower ratio than 50% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
8.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$11,844
per pupil, district-wide
- below Indiana avg of $12,079
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 473 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.4 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 89.0%
Hispanic or Latino 7.0%
Two or More 3.4%
Asian 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 89.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.2, Pioneer Elementary School is less mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pioneer Regional School Corp, which includes Pioneer Elementary School.
$11,844
Per student
-2%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.8%
State 62.7%
Federal 8.5%
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 Pioneer Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Jr-Sr High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pioneer Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 425
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
Similar other schools in Royal Center
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~473 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pioneer Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Pioneer Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Pioneer Regional School Corp'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 Pioneer Elementary School
How many students attend Pioneer Elementary School?
Pioneer Elementary School has 473 students enrolled. It is a public school in Royal Center, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pioneer Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pioneer Elementary School is 15.3:1, which is 4% lower than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 3% 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 Pioneer Elementary School?
46.8% of students at Pioneer Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pioneer Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Pioneer Elementary School is White at 89.0% of enrollment, in Royal Center, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pioneer Elementary School?
Pioneer Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Pioneer Elementary School a good school?
Pioneer Elementary School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Indiana 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 Pioneer Regional School Corp?
Besides Pioneer Elementary School, Pioneer Regional School Corp also operates Pioneer Jr-Sr High School (425 students). See the Pioneer Regional School Corp 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.