Enrollment
400
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 483510003971
Shepard El — Plano, TX
Federal NCES profile for Shepard El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 63
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
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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shepard El compares with Texas 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
Shepard El reports 400 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 21% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the Texas average and 63% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 400 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Plano Isd spends $16,882 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 80.7% from local sources (property taxes), 7.3% from the state, and 12.0% 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 Shepard El compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 14% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.0% | ▼ 69% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 400 | top 36% | — | — |
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
19.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 23% in Texas — lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
14.8%
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
$16,882
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 400 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 400 Top 36% in Texas — larger than 64% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 12.5:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.0% -69% vs state
NCES ID 483510003971
Student demographics
White 56.8%
Hispanic or Latino 17.0%
Asian 13.3%
Two or More 8.5%
African American 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 56.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 400:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.8%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Plano Isd, which includes Shepard El.
$16,882
Per student
-2%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 80.7%
State 7.3%
Federal 12.0%
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
- 3,033
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,559
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,267
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,360
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,301
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
Similar elementary schools in Plano
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Anderson El
Standard public school
748 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Taylor El
Standard public school
744 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Gulledge El
Standard public school
692 students 16:1 students per teacher
Borchardt El
Standard public school
666 students 18:1 students per teacher
Riddle El
Standard public school
661 students 18.1:1 students per teacher
Daffron El
Standard public school
604 students 12.9:1 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 Shepard El
How many students attend Shepard El?
Shepard El has 400 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in PLANO, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shepard El?
The student-teacher ratio at Shepard El is 12.5:1, which is 14% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 21% 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 Shepard El?
19.0% of students at Shepard El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shepard El?
The largest demographic group at Shepard El is White at 56.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in PLANO, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shepard El?
Shepard El 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.