Enrollment
785
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lakewood Ranch, FL
Robert Willis Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Robert Willis Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120123005609
👥 S:T ratio 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 22
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Robert Willis Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.1:1
- students per teacher
- 19.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 785
- students enrolled
Robert Willis Elementary School has class sizes near the Florida median. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
School address
NCES ID 120123005609 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.1:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.5%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Robert Willis Elementary School compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Robert Willis Elementary School
Robert Willis Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, enrolling 785 students.
At 17.1:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Florida median, within a few percentage points of the 17.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 19.5% free-meal eligibility runs 63% below the Florida average.
Enrollment of 785 puts it in the larger third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,996 scored Florida schools.
Against 394 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #239.
Its student body is led by White (66%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 53/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 393 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 15.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Manatee also operates Lakewood Ranch High School (2,422 students) and Parrish Community High School (2,266 students) alongside Robert Willis 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 Robert Willis Elementary School compares
Robert Willis Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.1:1 | ▼ 4% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.5% | ▼ 63% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 785 | top 32% | - | - |
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.
785
Bigger than 85% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
19.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 63% below the Florida average of 52.0%
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
17.1:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 56% in Florida - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.7%
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
$10,900
per pupil, district-wide
- below Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 393 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 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 65.5%
Hispanic or Latino 17.3%
Two or More 9.4%
Asian 5.4%
African American 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 65.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.9, Robert Willis Elementary School is about as mixed as the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Manatee, which includes Robert Willis Elementary School.
$10,900
Per student
-2%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 58.3%
State 25.8%
Federal 15.9%
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 Robert Willis Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood Ranch High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Parrish Community High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Palmetto High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Manatee School for the Arts | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Manatee High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Robert Willis Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,422
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 2,266
- Students per teacher
- 26.3:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 2,185
- Students per teacher
- 23.8:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 2,051
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 1,998
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~785 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Robert Willis Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Robert Willis Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Manatee'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 Robert Willis Elementary School
How many students attend Robert Willis Elementary School?
Robert Willis Elementary School has 785 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lakewood Ranch, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Robert Willis Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Robert Willis Elementary School is 17.1:1, which is 4% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 9% higher 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 Robert Willis Elementary School?
19.5% of students at Robert Willis Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Robert Willis Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Robert Willis Elementary School is White at 65.5% of enrollment, in Lakewood Ranch, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Robert Willis Elementary School?
Robert Willis Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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).
Is Robert Willis Elementary School a good school?
Robert Willis Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida 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 Manatee?
Besides Robert Willis Elementary School, Manatee also operates Lakewood Ranch High School (2,422 students), Parrish Community High School (2,266 students), and Palmetto High School (2,185 students). See the Manatee 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.