Enrollment
141
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010306201378
Steele Elementary School — Steele, AL
Federal NCES profile for Steele Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 57/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 50
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: St Clair County · Alabama
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)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
61.9%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Steele Elementary School compares with Alabama 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
Steele Elementary School reports 141 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 9.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 61.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 5% above the Alabama average and 19% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 141 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St Clair County spends $11,167 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.2% from local sources (property taxes), 62.5% from the state, and 13.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C), 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 Steele Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 61.9% | ▲ 5% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 141 | top 3% | — | — |
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
61.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 5% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 27% in Alabama — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.9%
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
$11,167
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 141 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 141 Top 3% in Alabama — larger than 97% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 9.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 61.9% +5% vs state
NCES ID 010306201378
Student demographics
White 71.6%
Hispanic or Latino 22.0%
Two or More 6.4%
Largest group: White at 71.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 141:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St Clair County, which includes Steele Elementary School.
$11,167
Per student
-23%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.2%
State 62.5%
Federal 13.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 839
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 779
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 772
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Enrollment
- 723
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 708
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
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 Steele Elementary School
How many students attend Steele Elementary School?
Steele Elementary School has 141 students enrolled. It is a other school in Steele, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Steele Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Steele Elementary School is 16.3:1, which is 8% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% 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 Steele Elementary School?
61.9% of students at Steele Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Steele Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Steele Elementary School is White at 71.6%. The school serves a student body in Steele, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Steele Elementary School?
Steele Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C) 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.