Enrollment
439
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 291822000964
Southwest Elem. — Lawson, MO
Federal NCES profile for Southwest Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 12
📋 Attendance 72
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: Lawson R-Xiv · Missouri
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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.3%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-47% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southwest Elem. compares with Missouri 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
Southwest Elem. reports 439 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% above the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 47% below the Missouri average and 53% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 439 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lawson R-Xiv spends $11,439 per pupil district-wide, below the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 49.2% from local sources (property taxes), 39.1% from the state, and 11.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F), 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 Southwest Elem. compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Missouri state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.4:1 | ▲ 19% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.3% | ▼ 47% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 439 | top 71% | — | — |
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
24.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 47% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 84% in Missouri — lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
11.2%
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
$11,439
per pupil, district-wide
— below Missouri avg of $15,248
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 439 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
Enrollment 439 Top 71% in Missouri — larger than 29% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.3% -47% vs state
NCES ID 291822000964
Student demographics
White 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 439:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lawson R-Xiv, which includes Southwest Elem..
$11,439
Per student
-25%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 49.2%
State 39.1%
Federal 11.7%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 362
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 342
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
Similar other schools in Lawson
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Southwest Elem.
How many students attend Southwest Elem.?
Southwest Elem. has 439 students enrolled. It is a other school in LAWSON, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwest Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Southwest Elem. is 15.4:1, which is 19% higher than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southwest Elem.?
24.3% of students at Southwest Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southwest Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Southwest Elem. is White at 100.0%. The school serves a student body in LAWSON, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southwest Elem.?
Southwest Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F) 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.