Enrollment
268
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 201203000808
Sterling Grade School — Sterling, KS
Federal NCES profile for Sterling Grade School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 62
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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.7:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.3%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sterling Grade School compares with Kansas 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
Sterling Grade School reports 268 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the Kansas state mean of 14.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 24% below the Kansas average and 38% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 268 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sterling spends $16,300 per pupil district-wide, below the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.3% from local sources (property taxes), 67.2% from the state, and 6.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (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 Sterling Grade School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.7:1 | ▼ 5% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.3% | ▼ 24% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 268 | top 47% | — | — |
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
32.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 24% below the Kansas average of 42.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.7:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 51% in Kansas — lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
15.3%
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
$16,300
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kansas avg of $17,342
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 268 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 268 Top 47% in Kansas — larger than 53% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 13.7:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.3% -24% vs state
NCES ID 201203000808
Student demographics
White 92.2%
Two or More 4.1%
African American 2.2%
Hispanic or Latino 1.1%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 92.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 268:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.3%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sterling, which includes Sterling Grade School.
$16,300
Per student
-6%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 67.2%
Federal 6.5%
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
- 232
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
Similar other schools in Sterling
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 Sterling Grade School
How many students attend Sterling Grade School?
Sterling Grade School has 268 students enrolled. It is a other school in Sterling, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sterling Grade School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sterling Grade School is 13.7:1, which is 5% lower than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 14% lower 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 Sterling Grade School?
32.3% of students at Sterling Grade School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sterling Grade School?
The largest demographic group at Sterling Grade School is White at 92.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sterling, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sterling Grade School?
Sterling Grade School has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (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.