Elementary school (grades K-5) · Philadelphia, PA

Powel Samuel Sch

Federal NCES profile for Powel Samuel Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 421899003783
0/100100/10046/100
👥 S:T ratio
32
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
35
📋 Attendance
46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Powel Samuel Sch earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania schools.

#13 of 131
elementary schools in Philadelphia · Resource Index
46
Resource Index · Typical
17.1:1
large classes for Pennsylvania
100.0%
free-lunch eligible

Powel Samuel Sch has class sizes larger than 91% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Powel Samuel Sch ranks #13 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA.

Enrollment

324

Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

19.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.1:1

vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg

+26% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

100.0%

vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg

+72% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Powel Samuel Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Powel Samuel Sch

Powel Samuel Sch is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, enrolling 324 students.

Class loads run heavy: 17.1:1 is larger than about 91% of Pennsylvania schools and 26% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 100.0% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 324 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.

Against 431 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #129.

Its student body is led by African American (57%) and White (28%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 59/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 324 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 23.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Philadelphia's elementary schools, it stands alongside Northeast Community Propel Academy (1,783 students): Powel Samuel Sch is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.1:1 vs 22.6:1).

Philadelphia City Sd also operates Northeast Hs (3,463 students) and Lincoln Hs (2,472 students) alongside Powel Samuel Sch.

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 Powel Samuel Sch compares

Powel Samuel Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Pennsylvania Pennsylvania avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 17.1:1 ▲ 26% 13.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% ▲ 72% 58.1% 51.7%
Enrollment 324 top 73% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

17.1:1
Leaner classes than 30% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
324
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible - 72% above the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.1:1
students per teacher - 26% above state mean
Top 91% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,892
per pupil, district-wide - below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 324 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 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

African American 56.5%
White 28.4%
Hispanic or Latino 5.9%
Two or More 4.6%
Asian 4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%

Largest group: African American at 56.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 59.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 59.3, Powel Samuel Sch is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Philadelphia City Sd, which includes Powel Samuel Sch.

$17,892
Per student
0%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 37.0%
State 39.7%
Federal 23.3%

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.

How Powel Samuel Sch Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Northeast Hs Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lincoln Hs Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Central Hs Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Northeast Community Propel Academy Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mayfair Sch Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Powel Samuel Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Philadelphia City Sd · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Philadelphia

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Powel Samuel Sch's federal record.

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 Powel Samuel Sch

How many students attend Powel Samuel Sch?

Powel Samuel Sch has 324 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Philadelphia, PA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Powel Samuel Sch?

The student-teacher ratio at Powel Samuel Sch is 17.1:1, which is 26% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Powel Samuel Sch?

100.0% of students at Powel Samuel Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Powel Samuel Sch?

The largest demographic group at Powel Samuel Sch is African American at 56.5% of enrollment, in Philadelphia, PA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Powel Samuel Sch?

Powel Samuel Sch 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).

How does Powel Samuel Sch rank among elementary schools in Philadelphia?

By Resource Investment Index, Powel Samuel Sch ranks #13 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Philadelphia on the city page.

Is Powel Samuel Sch a good school?

Powel Samuel Sch earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania 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 Philadelphia City Sd?

Besides Powel Samuel Sch, Philadelphia City Sd also operates Northeast Hs (3,463 students), Lincoln Hs (2,472 students), and Central Hs (2,329 students). See the Philadelphia City Sd district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.