Enrollment
495
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Union, MO
Prairie Dell Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Prairie Dell Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 293057003377
👥 S:T ratio 55
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 1
📋 Attendance 72
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Prairie Dell Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Union · Resource Index
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.3:1
- students per teacher
- 34.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Prairie Dell Elementary has class sizes near the Missouri median. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie Dell Elementary ranks #2 of 3 schools in Union, MO.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.3:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.2%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-26% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie Dell Elementary compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Prairie Dell Elementary
Prairie Dell Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Union, Missouri, enrolling 495 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Missouri schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 34.2% lands close to the Missouri typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 495 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,313 scored Missouri schools.
Against 495 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #210.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 495 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
11.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 16.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Union R-Xi also operates Union High (956 students) and Union Middle (704 students) alongside Prairie Dell Elementary.
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 Prairie Dell Elementary compares
Prairie Dell Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.3:1 | ▼ 12% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.2% | ▼ 26% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 495 | top 22% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.3:1
Leaner classes than 81% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
495
Bigger than 61% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
34.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 26% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.3:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 31% in Missouri - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
11.3%
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
$10,624
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 495 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.1 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 90.1%
Two or More 5.3%
Hispanic or Latino 3.0%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 90.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 18.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 18.4, Prairie Dell Elementary is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union R-Xi, which includes Prairie Dell Elementary.
$10,624
Per student
-18%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 49.6%
State 33.9%
Federal 16.5%
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 Prairie Dell Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Union Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Central Elem. | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Beaufort Elem. | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Prairie Dell Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 956
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 704
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 643
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 322
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~495 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Prairie Dell Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Prairie Dell Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Union R-Xi'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 Prairie Dell Elementary
How many students attend Prairie Dell Elementary?
Prairie Dell Elementary has 495 students enrolled. It is a public school in Union, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Dell Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie Dell Elementary is 11.3:1, which is 12% lower than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 28% 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 Prairie Dell Elementary?
34.2% of students at Prairie Dell Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Prairie Dell Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Prairie Dell Elementary is White at 90.1% of enrollment, in Union, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie Dell Elementary?
Prairie Dell Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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).
How does Prairie Dell Elementary rank among schools in Union?
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie Dell Elementary ranks #2 of 3 schools in Union, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Union on the city page.
Is Prairie Dell Elementary a good school?
Prairie Dell Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri 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 Union R-Xi?
Besides Prairie Dell Elementary, Union R-Xi also operates Union High (956 students), Union Middle (704 students), and Central Elem. (643 students). See the Union R-Xi 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.