Enrollment
539
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 190651000230
Southdale Elementary School — Cedar Falls, IA
Federal NCES profile for Southdale Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 82
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: Cedar Falls 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)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.6:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
20.4%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southdale 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
Southdale Elementary School reports 539 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 39.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% 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 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 20.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 44% below the Iowa average and 61% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 539 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 7.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cedar Falls Comm School District spends $18,542 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.2% from local sources (property taxes), 51.4% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), 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 Southdale 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 | 13.6:1 | ▼ 9% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 20.4% | ▼ 44% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 539 | top 83% | — | — |
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
20.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 44% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.6:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 39% in Iowa — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
7.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$18,542
per pupil, district-wide
— above 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 539 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 539 Top 83% in Iowa — larger than 17% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 39.0
Students per teacher 13.6:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 20.4% -44% vs state
NCES ID 190651000230
Student demographics
White 79.8%
Asian 6.1%
Two or More 5.9%
African American 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 3.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Largest group: White at 79.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 539:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 7.1%
In-school suspensions 8
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cedar Falls Comm School District, which includes Southdale Elementary School.
$18,542
Per student
+8%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.2%
State 51.4%
Federal 9.4%
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
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 695
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 628
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 569
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
Similar other schools in Cedar Falls
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Peet Junior High School
Standard public school
695 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
Holmes Junior High School
Standard public school
628 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Helen a Hansen Elementary School
Standard public school
569 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
Bess Streeter Aldrich Elementary
Standard public school
472 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Orchard Hill Elementary School
Standard public school
458 students 13.2:1 students per teacher
Cedar Heights Elementary School
Standard public school
451 students 14.8:1 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 Southdale Elementary School
How many students attend Southdale Elementary School?
Southdale Elementary School has 539 students enrolled. It is a other school in Cedar Falls, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southdale Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Southdale Elementary School is 13.6:1, which is 9% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 14% 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 Southdale Elementary School?
20.4% of students at Southdale Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southdale Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Southdale Elementary School is White at 79.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cedar Falls, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southdale Elementary School?
Southdale Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) 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.