Enrollment
574
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 120159001776
Spook Hill Elementary School — Lake Wales, FL
Federal NCES profile for Spook Hill Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 26/100.
👥 Class size 33
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
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)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
67.3%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Spook Hill Elementary School compares with Florida 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
Spook Hill Elementary School reports 574 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 35.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 5% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 67.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 29% above the Florida average and 30% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 574 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 62.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Polk spends $12,580 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.2% from local sources (property taxes), 43.8% from the state, and 21.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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 Spook Hill Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.7:1 | ▼ 9% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 67.3% | ▲ 29% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 574 | top 48% | — | — |
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
67.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 29% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 49% in Florida — lower ratio than 51% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
62.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,580
per pupil, district-wide
— below Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 574 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 53 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 574 Top 48% in Florida — larger than 52% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 35.0
Students per teacher 16.7:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 67.3% +29% vs state
NCES ID 120159001776
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 35.9%
White 35.4%
African American 25.3%
Two or More 2.8%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 35.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 574:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 62.9%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 53
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Polk, which includes Spook Hill Elementary School.
$12,580
Per student
-1%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.2%
State 43.8%
Federal 21.0%
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
- 3,105
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,731
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,648
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,632
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,469
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
Similar other schools in Lake Wales
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Mclaughlin Academy of Excellence
Standard public school
758 students 15.5:1 students per teacher
Hillcrest Elementary School
Standard public school
667 students 15:1 students per teacher
Polk Avenue Elementary School
Standard public school
523 students 19:1 students per teacher
Janie Howard Wilson School
Standard public school
462 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Victory Ridge Academy
Special-education school
321 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
Roosevelt Academy
Alternative education program
279 students 14.2:1 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 Spook Hill Elementary School
How many students attend Spook Hill Elementary School?
Spook Hill Elementary School has 574 students enrolled. It is a other school in LAKE WALES, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spook Hill Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Spook Hill Elementary School is 16.7:1, which is 9% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 5% higher 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 Spook Hill Elementary School?
67.3% of students at Spook Hill Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Spook Hill Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Spook Hill Elementary School is Hispanic or Latino at 35.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in LAKE WALES, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Spook Hill Elementary School?
Spook Hill Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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.