Elementary school (grades K-5) · Casper, WY

Southridge Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Southridge Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 560451000257
0/100100/10039/100
👥 S:T ratio
39
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Southridge Elementary earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of Wyoming schools.

#3 of 12
elementary schools in Casper · Resource Index
39
Resource Index · Typical
15.3:1
large classes for Wyoming
17.9%
free-lunch eligible

Southridge Elementary has class sizes larger than 90% of Wyoming schools. Computed live against every Wyoming school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Southridge Elementary ranks #3 of 12 elementary schools in Casper, WY.

Enrollment

322

Wyoming · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

21.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.3:1

vs 11.4:1 Wyoming avg

+34% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

17.9%

vs 27.4% Wyoming avg

-35% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Southridge Elementary compares with Wyoming and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Southridge Elementary

Southridge Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Casper, Wyoming, enrolling 322 students.

Class loads run heavy: 15.3:1 is larger than about 90% of Wyoming schools and 34% above the 11.4:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 17.9% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 322 puts it in the larger third of Wyoming schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 347 scored Wyoming schools.

Against 109 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #63.

Its student body is predominantly White (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 27/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 537 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

The surrounding Natrona County School District #1 spends $16,139 per pupil, 28% below the Wyoming average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 15.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Casper's elementary schools, it stands alongside Verda James Elementary (448 students): Southridge Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.3:1 vs 17.9:1).

Natrona County School District #1 also operates Kelly Walsh High School (2,002 students) and Natrona County High School (1,703 students) alongside Southridge Elementary.

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 Southridge Elementary compares

Southridge Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Wyoming and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Wyoming Wyoming avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 15.3:1 ▲ 34% 11.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 17.9% ▼ 35% 27.4% 51.7%
Enrollment 322 top 25% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15.3:1
Leaner classes than 44% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
322
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
17.9%
free-lunch eligible - 35% below the Wyoming average of 27.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher - 34% above state mean
Top 90% in Wyoming - lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
21.7%
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
$16,139
per pupil, district-wide - below Wyoming avg of $22,313
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
14
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.0 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 84.5%
Hispanic or Latino 10.6%
Two or More 4.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: White at 84.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 27.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 27.3, Southridge Elementary is less mixed than the Wyoming school average of 33.2.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Natrona County School District #1, which includes Southridge Elementary.

$16,139
Per student
-28%
vs Wyoming
Avg $22,313
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 20.6%
State 64.3%
Federal 15.1%

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 Southridge Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Kelly Walsh High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Natrona County High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
C Y Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Centennial Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Dean Morgan Middle School Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Southridge Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Natrona County School District #1 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Casper

6 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 Wyoming, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Southridge Elementary's federal record.

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 Southridge Elementary

How many students attend Southridge Elementary?

Southridge Elementary has 322 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Casper, WY.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Southridge Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Southridge Elementary is 15.3:1, which is 34% higher than the Wyoming average of 11.4:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southridge Elementary?

17.9% of students at Southridge Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Wyoming average of 27.4%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southridge Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Southridge Elementary is White at 84.5% of enrollment, in Casper, WY.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Southridge Elementary?

Southridge Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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).

How does Southridge Elementary rank among elementary schools in Casper?

By Resource Investment Index, Southridge Elementary ranks #3 of 12 elementary schools in Casper, WY. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Casper on the city page.

Is Southridge Elementary a good school?

Southridge Elementary earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of Wyoming 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 Natrona County School District #1?

Besides Southridge Elementary, Natrona County School District #1 also operates Kelly Walsh High School (2,002 students), Natrona County High School (1,703 students), and C Y Middle School (766 students). See the Natrona County School District #1 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

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.