Enrollment
245
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Whippany, NJ
Salem Drive School
Federal NCES profile for Salem Drive School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 68/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 340669004258
👥 S:T ratio 64
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 87
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Salem Drive School earns 68/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of New Jersey schools.
- 68
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.1:1
- small classes for New Jersey
- 1.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 245
- students enrolled
Salem Drive School has class sizes smaller than 86% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Hanover Township School District · New Jersey
NCES ID 340669004258 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.1:1
vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg
-23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
1.3%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-96% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Salem Drive School compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians
What stands out at Salem Drive School
Salem Drive School is a lower-poverty, small elementary school in Whippany, New Jersey, enrolling 245 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.1:1, Salem Drive School is leaner than roughly 86% of New Jersey schools and 23% under the state's 11.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 1.3% free-meal eligibility runs 96% below the New Jersey average.
Enrollment of 245 puts it in the smaller third of New Jersey schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 93% of the 2,501 New Jersey schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 299 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #36.
Its student body is led by White (69%) and Hispanic or Latino (12%) (diversity index 50/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 245 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 5.3% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Among Whippany's elementary schools, it stands alongside Bee Meadow School (294 students): Salem Drive School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.1:1 vs 9.8:1).
Hanover Township School District also operates Memorial Junior School (419 students) and Bee Meadow School (294 students) alongside Salem Drive 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 Salem Drive School compares
Salem Drive School on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.1:1 | ▼ 23% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 1.3% | ▼ 96% | 29.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 245 | top 85% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.1:1
Leaner classes than 92% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
245
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
1.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 96% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
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
9.1:1
students per teacher
- 23% below state mean
Top 14% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
5.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$27,830
per pupil, district-wide
- above New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 245 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 69.0%
Hispanic or Latino 12.2%
Asian 7.3%
Two or More 6.5%
African American 4.9%
Largest group: White at 69.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 49.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 49.7, Salem Drive School is about as mixed as the New Jersey school average of 51.2.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hanover Township School District, which includes Salem Drive School.
$27,830
Per student
+11%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+68%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 76.3%
State 22.0%
Federal 1.7%
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 Salem Drive School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Junior School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bee Meadow School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mountview Road School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Salem Drive School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 419
- Students per teacher
- 9.3:1
- Resource Index
- 69/100
- Enrollment
- 294
- Students per teacher
- 9.8:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 276
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 64/100
Similar elementary schools in Whippany
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~245 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Salem Drive School's federal record.
- Compare Salem Drive School against another school. Compare schools
- Hanover Township School District'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 Salem Drive School
How many students attend Salem Drive School?
Salem Drive School has 245 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Whippany, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Salem Drive School?
The student-teacher ratio at Salem Drive School is 9.1:1, which is 23% lower than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 42% 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 Salem Drive School?
1.3% of students at Salem Drive School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Salem Drive School?
The largest demographic group at Salem Drive School is White at 69.0% of enrollment, in Whippany, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Salem Drive School?
Salem Drive School has a Resource Investment Index of 68/100 (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).
Is Salem Drive School a good school?
Salem Drive School earns 68/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of New Jersey 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 Hanover Township School District?
Besides Salem Drive School, Hanover Township School District also operates Memorial Junior School (419 students), Bee Meadow School (294 students), and Mountview Road School (276 students). See the Hanover Township School District 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.