Enrollment
385
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 190822000433
Rue Elementary School — Council Bluffs, IA
Federal NCES profile for Rue Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 60
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: Council Bluffs Comm School District · Iowa
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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
49.7%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rue Elementary School compares with Iowa 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
Rue Elementary School reports 385 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 25% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 49.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% above the Iowa average and 4% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 385 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Council Bluffs Comm School District spends $16,761 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.2% from local sources (property taxes), 53.5% from the state, and 16.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), 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 Rue Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12:1 | ▼ 20% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 49.7% | ▲ 37% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 385 | top 65% | — | — |
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
49.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12:1
students per teacher
— 20% below state mean
Top 17% in Iowa — lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
16.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$16,761
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 385 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 385 Top 65% in Iowa — larger than 35% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 12:1 -20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 49.7% +37% vs state
NCES ID 190822000433
Student demographics
White 66.0%
Hispanic or Latino 20.8%
Two or More 6.8%
African American 4.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.8%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 66.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 385:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.1%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Council Bluffs Comm School District, which includes Rue Elementary School.
$16,761
Per student
-3%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.2%
State 53.5%
Federal 16.3%
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
- 1,333
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,146
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 913
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 855
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 488
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
Similar other schools in Council Bluffs
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
E a Kreft Primary School
Standard public school
502 students 14:1 students per teacher
College View Elementary
Standard public school
488 students 15:1 students per teacher
Roosevelt Elementary School
Standard public school
455 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Longfellow Elementary School
Standard public school
431 students 16:1 students per teacher
Franklin Elementary School
Standard public school
421 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Hoover Elementary School
Standard public school
401 students 14.3:1 students per teacher
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 Rue Elementary School
How many students attend Rue Elementary School?
Rue Elementary School has 385 students enrolled. It is a other school in Council Bluffs, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rue Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Rue Elementary School is 12:1, which is 20% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 25% 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 Rue Elementary School?
49.7% of students at Rue Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rue Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Rue Elementary School is White at 66.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Council Bluffs, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rue Elementary School?
Rue Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) 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.