Enrollment
176
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 220156002007
Plaisance Middle School — Opelousas, LA
Federal NCES profile for Plaisance Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 Attendance 45
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: St. Landry Parish · Louisiana
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
69.1%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+11% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Plaisance Middle School compares with Louisiana and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Plaisance Middle School reports 176 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 69.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 11% above the Louisiana average and 33% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 176 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 22.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. Landry Parish spends $14,633 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.6% from local sources (property taxes), 44.1% from the state, and 27.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Plaisance Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.7:1 | ▼ 16% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 69.1% | ▲ 11% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 176 | top 9% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
69.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 11% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.7:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 28% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
22.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,633
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 176 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 49 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 27.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 176 Top 9% in Louisiana — larger than 91% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 15.7:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 69.1% +11% vs state
NCES ID 220156002007
Student demographics
African American 68.2%
White 27.8%
Hispanic or Latino 2.3%
Two or More 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: African American at 68.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 176:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 22.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 49
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Landry Parish, which includes Plaisance Middle School.
$14,633
Per student
-18%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.6%
State 44.1%
Federal 27.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 767
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Enrollment
- 698
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 616
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 606
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
Similar elementary schools in Opelousas
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Plaisance Middle School
How many students attend Plaisance Middle School?
Plaisance Middle School has 176 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Opelousas, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Plaisance Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Plaisance Middle School is 15.7:1, which is 16% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Plaisance Middle School?
69.1% of students at Plaisance Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Plaisance Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Plaisance Middle School is African American at 68.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Opelousas, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Plaisance Middle School?
Plaisance Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.