Enrollment
196
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cowansville, PA
Sugarcreek El Sch
Federal NCES profile for Sugarcreek El Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420960000083
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sugarcreek El Sch earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 31.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 196
- students enrolled
Sugarcreek El Sch has class sizes smaller than 79% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Karns City Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420960000083 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.1%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-46% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sugarcreek El Sch compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sugarcreek El Sch
Sugarcreek El Sch is a small elementary school in Cowansville, Pennsylvania, enrolling 196 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 31.1% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of Pennsylvania schools, with 196 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 116 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #59.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 196 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Karns City Area Sd also operates Chicora El Sch (645 students) and Karns City Hs (642 students) alongside Sugarcreek El Sch.
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 Sugarcreek El Sch compares
Sugarcreek El Sch on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 15% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.1% | ▼ 46% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 196 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
196
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
31.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 46% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 21% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,963
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 196 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Karns City Area Sd, which includes Sugarcreek El Sch.
$16,963
Per student
-6%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.8%
State 62.2%
Federal 5.0%
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.
How Sugarcreek El Sch Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicora El Sch | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Karns City Hs | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sugarcreek El Sch's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 645
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 642
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~196 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sugarcreek El Sch's federal record.
- Compare Sugarcreek El Sch against another school. Compare schools
- Karns City Area Sd'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 Sugarcreek El Sch
How many students attend Sugarcreek El Sch?
Sugarcreek El Sch has 196 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cowansville, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sugarcreek El Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Sugarcreek El Sch is 11.5:1, which is 15% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 27% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sugarcreek El Sch?
31.1% of students at Sugarcreek El Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sugarcreek El Sch?
Sugarcreek El Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Sugarcreek El Sch a good school?
Sugarcreek El Sch earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Pennsylvania schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Karns City Area Sd?
Besides Sugarcreek El Sch, Karns City Area Sd also operates Chicora El Sch (645 students) and Karns City Hs (642 students). See the Karns City Area Sd 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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.