Enrollment
97
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Pownal, ME
Pownal Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Pownal Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 231478900683
👥 S:T ratio 65
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 59
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pownal Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of Maine schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8.8:1
- small classes for Maine
- 15.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 97
- students enrolled
Pownal Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 82% of Maine schools. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.8:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.6%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pownal Elementary School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pownal Elementary School
Pownal Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Pownal, Maine, enrolling 97 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 8.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Maine schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 15.6% free-meal eligibility runs 54% below the Maine average.
Enrollment of 97 puts it in the smaller third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 38 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #17.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 194 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
16.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Rsu 05 also operates Freeport High School (593 students) and Durham Community School (469 students) alongside Pownal 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 Pownal Elementary School compares
Pownal Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.8:1 | ▼ 21% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.6% | ▼ 54% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 97 | top 84% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.8:1
Leaner classes than 93% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
97
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
15.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 54% below the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
8.8:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 18% in Maine - lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
16.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$17,391
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maine avg of $20,083
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 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 90.6%
Hispanic or Latino 6.3%
Two or More 2.1%
African American 1.0%
Largest group: White at 90.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.5, Pownal Elementary School is less mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 05, which includes Pownal Elementary School.
$17,391
Per student
-13%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 71.1%
State 22.9%
Federal 6.1%
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 Pownal Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Durham Community School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Morse Street School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Freeport Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Mast Landing School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pownal Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 593
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 288
- Students per teacher
- 11.1:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 288
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 266
- Students per teacher
- 11.1:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~97 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pownal Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Pownal Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Rsu 05'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 Pownal Elementary School
How many students attend Pownal Elementary School?
Pownal Elementary School has 97 students enrolled. It is a public school in Pownal, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pownal Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pownal Elementary School is 8.8:1, which is 21% lower than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 44% 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 Pownal Elementary School?
15.6% of students at Pownal Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pownal Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Pownal Elementary School is White at 90.6% of enrollment, in Pownal, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pownal Elementary School?
Pownal Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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 Pownal Elementary School a good school?
Pownal Elementary School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of Maine 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 Rsu 05?
Besides Pownal Elementary School, Rsu 05 also operates Freeport High School (593 students), Durham Community School (469 students), and Morse Street School (288 students). See the Rsu 05 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.