Enrollment
128
Nebraska · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Ponca, NE
Ponca Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Ponca Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 317577001530
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 86
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ponca Elementary School earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Nebraska median.
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.8:1
- students per teacher
- 16.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 128
- students enrolled
Ponca Elementary School has class sizes near the Nebraska median. Computed live against every Nebraska school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Ponca Public Schools · Nebraska
NCES ID 317577001530 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 13.5:1 Nebraska avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.0%
vs 30.9% Nebraska avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ponca Elementary School compares with Nebraska and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ponca Elementary School
Ponca Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Ponca, Nebraska, enrolling 128 students.
At 12.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Nebraska median, within a few percentage points of the 13.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 16.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 128 puts it in the smaller third of Nebraska schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,003 scored Nebraska schools.
Among 122 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Nebraska schools statewide, it ranks #112, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 13/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 512 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 5.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Ponca Public Schools also operates Ponca High School (198 students) and Jackson Elementary (116 students) alongside Ponca Elementary 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 Ponca Elementary School compares
Ponca Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Nebraska and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Nebraska | Nebraska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.8:1 | ▼ 5% | 13.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.0% | ▼ 48% | 30.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 128 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
128
Bigger than 13% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
16.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 48% below the Nebraska average of 30.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 49% in Nebraska - lower ratio than 51% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
5.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$15,295
per pupil, district-wide
- below Nebraska avg of $17,680
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 93.0%
African American 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino 2.3%
Two or More 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Largest group: White at 93.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.4, Ponca Elementary School is less mixed than the Nebraska school average of 34.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ponca Public Schools, which includes Ponca Elementary School.
$15,295
Per student
-13%
vs Nebraska
Avg $17,680
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 58.8%
State 33.2%
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 Ponca Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponca High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Jackson Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ponca Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 198
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Resource Index
- 75/100
- Enrollment
- 116
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Nebraska, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~128 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ponca Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Ponca Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Ponca Public Schools'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 Ponca Elementary School
How many students attend Ponca Elementary School?
Ponca Elementary School has 128 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Ponca, NE.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ponca Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ponca Elementary School is 12.8:1, which is 5% lower than the Nebraska average of 13.5:1 and 18% 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 Ponca Elementary School?
16.0% of students at Ponca Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Nebraska average of 30.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ponca Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Ponca Elementary School is White at 93.0% of enrollment, in Ponca, NE.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ponca Elementary School?
Ponca Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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 Ponca Elementary School a good school?
Ponca Elementary School earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Nebraska 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 Ponca Public Schools?
Besides Ponca Elementary School, Ponca Public Schools also operates Ponca High School (198 students) and Jackson Elementary (116 students). See the Ponca Public Schools 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.