Enrollment
1,085
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 421980007641
Punxsutawney Area El Sch — Punxutawney, PA
Federal NCES profile for Punxsutawney Area El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 0
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: Punxsutawney Area Sd · Pennsylvania
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)
93.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.6:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.2%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Punxsutawney Area El Sch compares with Pennsylvania 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
Punxsutawney Area El Sch reports 1,085 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 93.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 27% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 64.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% above the Pennsylvania average and 24% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 362 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Punxsutawney Area Sd spends $22,841 per pupil district-wide, above the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 27.5% from local sources (property taxes), 59.3% from the state, and 13.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F), 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 Punxsutawney Area El Sch compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.6:1 | ▼ 14% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.2% | ▲ 10% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,085 | top 92% | — | — |
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
64.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% 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
11.6:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 21% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
42.0%
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
$22,841
per pupil, district-wide
— above Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 362 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
52
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,085 Top 92% in Pennsylvania — larger than 8% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 93.0
Students per teacher 11.6:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 64.2% +10% vs state
NCES ID 421980007641
Student demographics
White 95.2%
Two or More 1.9%
Hispanic or Latino 1.8%
African American 0.8%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 95.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 362:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.0%
In-school suspensions 52
Out-of-school suspensions 17
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Punxsutawney Area Sd, which includes Punxsutawney Area El Sch.
$22,841
Per student
+0%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
+17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 27.5%
State 59.3%
Federal 13.2%
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
- 810
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
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 Punxsutawney Area El Sch
How many students attend Punxsutawney Area El Sch?
Punxsutawney Area El Sch has 1,085 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Punxutawney, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Punxsutawney Area El Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Punxsutawney Area El Sch is 11.6:1, which is 14% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 27% 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 Punxsutawney Area El Sch?
64.2% of students at Punxsutawney Area El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Punxsutawney Area El Sch?
The largest demographic group at Punxsutawney Area El Sch is White at 95.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Punxutawney, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Punxsutawney Area El Sch?
Punxsutawney Area El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F) 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.