Enrollment
367
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · New Lenox, IL
Spencer Trail
Federal NCES profile for Spencer Trail, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 172814005858
👥 S:T ratio 14
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 61
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Spencer Trail earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 97% of Illinois schools.
- #9 of 9
- elementary schools in New Lenox · Resource Index
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 21.6:1
- large classes for Illinois
- 367
- students enrolled
Spencer Trail has class sizes larger than 97% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Spencer Trail ranks #9 of 9 elementary schools in New Lenox, IL.
School address
District: New Lenox Sd 122 · Illinois
NCES ID 172814005858 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.6:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
+54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Spencer Trail compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Spencer Trail
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational constraint
Spencer Trail's enrollment sits away from the most extreme size bands, but its reported student-teacher ratio is heavier than most Illinois schools. That isolates staffing load as a more useful concern than raw campus size. A high ratio does not establish weak teaching or outcomes, yet it can indicate less adult capacity per enrolled student. The remaining federal indicators show whether support staffing and program access offset that pressure.
Student support operates inside a leaner district budget
Spencer Trail's district reports $14,364 in per-pupil expenditure, at least 15% below the Illinois average of $17,042. That district-wide constraint gives the campus-level support fields added meaning: counselor loads, specialist staffing, and program access are being reported within a comparatively lean spending environment. F-33 does not publish this school's own budget, so the comparison describes district context rather than dollars assigned to this building.
Spencer Trail is a mid-sized elementary school in New Lenox, Illinois, enrolling 367 students.
Class loads run heavy: 21.6:1 is larger than about 97% of Illinois schools and 54% above the 14:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
With 367 students, its enrollment sits close to the Illinois median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is led by White (79%) and Hispanic or Latino (15%) (diversity index 36/100).
15.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among New Lenox's elementary schools, it stands alongside Spencer Crossing (544 students): Spencer Trail is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (21.6:1 vs 20.1:1).
New Lenox Sd 122 also operates Alex M Martino Jr High School (591 students) and Liberty Junior High School (573 students) alongside Spencer Trail.
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 Spencer Trail compares
Spencer Trail on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.6:1 | ▲ 54% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 367 | top 51% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
21.6:1
Leaner classes than 11% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
367
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
21.6:1
students per teacher
- 54% above state mean
Top 97% in Illinois - lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
15.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,364
per pupil, district-wide
- below Illinois avg of $17,042
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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.
Student demographics
White 78.7%
Hispanic or Latino 15.3%
Two or More 2.5%
African American 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 78.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 35.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 35.6, Spencer Trail is less mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for New Lenox Sd 122, which includes Spencer Trail.
$14,364
Per student
-16%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 70.5%
State 24.2%
Federal 5.3%
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 Spencer Trail Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex M Martino Jr High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Liberty Junior High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Spencer Crossing | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Spencer Pointe | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Nelson Ridge School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Spencer Trail's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 591
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 573
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
- Enrollment
- 544
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 437
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 432
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
Similar elementary schools in New Lenox
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Spencer Crossing
Standard public school
544 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Spencer Pointe
Standard public school
437 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Nelson Ridge School
Standard public school
432 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Nelson Prairie School
Standard public school
388 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Bentley Elem School
Standard public school
380 students 18.1:1 students per teacher
Oster-Oakview School
Standard public school
373 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Illinois, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~367 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Spencer Trail's federal record.
- Compare Spencer Trail against another school. Compare schools
- New Lenox Sd 122'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 Spencer Trail
How many students attend Spencer Trail?
Spencer Trail has 367 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in New Lenox, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spencer Trail?
The student-teacher ratio at Spencer Trail is 21.6:1, which is 54% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 38% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Spencer Trail?
The largest demographic group at Spencer Trail is White at 78.7% of enrollment, in New Lenox, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Spencer Trail?
Spencer Trail has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Spencer Trail rank among elementary schools in New Lenox?
By Resource Investment Index, Spencer Trail ranks #9 of 9 elementary schools in New Lenox, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in New Lenox on the city page.
What other schools are in New Lenox Sd 122?
Besides Spencer Trail, New Lenox Sd 122 also operates Alex M Martino Jr High School (591 students), Liberty Junior High School (573 students), and Spencer Crossing (544 students). See the New Lenox Sd 122 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.