Enrollment
113
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Plains, KS
Plains Elem
Federal NCES profile for Plains Elem, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 73/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 200819001299
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 96
📋 Attendance 67
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Plains Elem earns 73/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Kansas schools.
- 73
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.3:1
- small classes for Kansas
- 68.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 113
- students enrolled
Plains Elem has class sizes smaller than 86% of Kansas schools. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
68.0%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+59% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Plains Elem compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Plains Elem
Plains Elem is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Plains, Kansas, enrolling 113 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.3:1, Plains Elem is leaner than roughly 86% of Kansas schools and 25% under the state's 13.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 68.0% of students qualify for free meals, 59% above the Kansas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 113 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 1,346 Kansas schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 41 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Kansas schools statewide, it ranks #1, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (66%) and White (32%) (diversity index 47/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 21 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
13.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Kismet-Plains also operates Southwestern Heights Jr/Sr High (310 students) and Kismet Elem (152 students) alongside Plains Elem.
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 Plains Elem compares
Plains Elem on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 25% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 68.0% | ▲ 59% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 113 | top 82% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
113
Bigger than 11% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
68.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 59% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 14% in Kansas - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
13.3%
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
$16,861
per pupil, district-wide
- above Kansas avg of $15,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors5.5 FTE
Per 21 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 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
Hispanic or Latino 65.5%
White 31.9%
African American 0.9%
Asian 0.9%
Two or More 0.9%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 65.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 46.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 46.9, Plains Elem is more mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kismet-Plains, which includes Plains Elem.
$16,861
Per student
+9%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.2%
State 68.8%
Federal 8.0%
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 Plains Elem Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Heights Jr/Sr High | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Kismet Elem | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Plains Elem's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 310
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 152
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~113 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Plains Elem's federal record.
- Compare Plains Elem against another school. Compare schools
- Kismet-Plains'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 Plains Elem
How many students attend Plains Elem?
Plains Elem has 113 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Plains, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Plains Elem?
The student-teacher ratio at Plains Elem is 10.3:1, which is 25% lower than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 34% 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 Plains Elem?
68.0% of students at Plains Elem are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Plains Elem?
The largest demographic group at Plains Elem is Hispanic or Latino at 65.5% of enrollment, in Plains, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Plains Elem?
Plains Elem has a Resource Investment Index of 73/100 (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 Plains Elem a good school?
Plains Elem earns 73/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Kansas schools. 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 Kismet-Plains?
Besides Plains Elem, Kismet-Plains also operates Southwestern Heights Jr/Sr High (310 students) and Kismet Elem (152 students). See the Kismet-Plains 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.