Enrollment
295
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sumas, WA
Sumas Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Sumas Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 530567000840
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 41
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sumas Elementary earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median.
- 27
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.5:1
- students per teacher
- 55.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 295
- students enrolled
Sumas Elementary has class sizes near the Washington median. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Nooksack Valley School District · Washington
NCES ID 530567000840 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.5%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sumas Elementary compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sumas Elementary
Sumas Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Sumas, Washington, enrolling 295 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 55.5% of students eligible for free meals.
With 295 students, its enrollment sits close to the Washington median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 94% of the 2,394 Washington schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 319 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Washington schools statewide, it ranks #306, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (61%) and Hispanic or Latino (32%) (diversity index 52/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 295 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 51.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Nooksack Valley School District also operates Nooksack Valley High School (520 students) and Nooksack Valley Middle School (469 students) alongside Sumas Elementary.
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 Sumas Elementary compares
Sumas Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Washington and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.5:1 | ▼ 12% | 17.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.5% | ▲ 23% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 295 | top 64% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.5:1
Leaner classes than 42% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
295
Bigger than 32% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 23% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 40% in Washington - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
51.9%
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
$16,914
per pupil, district-wide
- below Washington avg of $19,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 295 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 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.
Student demographics
White 61.4%
Hispanic or Latino 32.2%
Two or More 3.4%
African American 1.0%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 61.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 51.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 51.8, Sumas Elementary is about as mixed as the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Nooksack Valley School District, which includes Sumas Elementary.
$16,914
Per student
-13%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.0%
State 64.6%
Federal 10.3%
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 Sumas Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nooksack Valley High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Nooksack Valley Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Nooksack Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Everson Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Nooksack Valley Special Services | Smaller | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sumas Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 520
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 412
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 288
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 34
- Students per teacher
- 34:1
- Resource Index
- 10/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Washington, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~295 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sumas Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Sumas Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Nooksack Valley School District'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 Sumas Elementary
How many students attend Sumas Elementary?
Sumas Elementary has 295 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sumas, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sumas Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sumas Elementary is 15.5:1, which is 12% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 1% 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 Sumas Elementary?
55.5% of students at Sumas Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sumas Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sumas Elementary is White at 61.4% of enrollment, in Sumas, WA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sumas Elementary?
Sumas Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower 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 Sumas Elementary a good school?
Sumas Elementary earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median. 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 Nooksack Valley School District?
Besides Sumas Elementary, Nooksack Valley School District also operates Nooksack Valley High School (520 students), Nooksack Valley Middle School (469 students), and Nooksack Elementary (412 students). See the Nooksack Valley School District 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.