Enrollment
589
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Dayton, TN
Rhea Central Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Rhea Central Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 470351002353
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 67
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Rhea Central Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Tennessee schools.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Dayton · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Tennessee
- 589
- students enrolled
Rhea Central Elementary has class sizes smaller than 87% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Rhea Central Elementary ranks #2 of 3 schools in Dayton, TN.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
51.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rhea Central Elementary compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Rhea Central Elementary
Rhea Central Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Dayton, Tennessee, enrolling 589 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.5:1, Rhea Central Elementary is leaner than roughly 87% of Tennessee schools and 25% under the state's 15.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 589 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is led by White (74%) and Hispanic or Latino (24%) (diversity index 39/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 589 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
13.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 22.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Dayton's public schools, it stands alongside Dayton City Elementary (891 students): Rhea Central Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.5:1 vs 17.1:1).
Rhea County also operates Rhea County High School (1,332 students) and Spring City Elementary (613 students) alongside Rhea Central 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 Rhea Central Elementary compares
Rhea Central Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 25% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 589 | top 33% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
589
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 13% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
13.4%
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
$11,031
per pupil, district-wide
- above Tennessee avg of $10,822
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 589 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
27
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.5 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 74.2%
Hispanic or Latino 23.9%
African American 1.0%
Two or More 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 74.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 39.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 39.2, Rhea Central Elementary is about as mixed as the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rhea County, which includes Rhea Central Elementary.
$11,031
Per student
+2%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.4%
State 52.4%
Federal 22.2%
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.
How Rhea Central Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhea County High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Spring City Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Rhea Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Frazier Elementary | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Spring City Middle School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Rhea Central Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,332
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 613
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 543
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 304
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar other schools in Dayton
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~589 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Rhea Central Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Rhea Central Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Rhea County'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 Rhea Central Elementary
How many students attend Rhea Central Elementary?
Rhea Central Elementary has 589 students enrolled. It is a public school in Dayton, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rhea Central Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Rhea Central Elementary is 11.5:1, which is 25% lower than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 27% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rhea Central Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Rhea Central Elementary is White at 74.2% of enrollment, in Dayton, TN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rhea Central Elementary?
Rhea Central Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Rhea Central Elementary rank among schools in Dayton?
By Resource Investment Index, Rhea Central Elementary ranks #2 of 3 schools in Dayton, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Dayton on the city page.
Is Rhea Central Elementary a good school?
Rhea Central Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Tennessee 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 Rhea County?
Besides Rhea Central Elementary, Rhea County also operates Rhea County High School (1,332 students), Spring City Elementary (613 students), and Rhea Middle School (543 students). See the Rhea County 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.