Enrollment
199
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 200996002010
Sunset Elementary — Newton, KS
Federal NCES profile for Sunset Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 11
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.7%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sunset Elementary 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
Sunset Elementary reports 199 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 21% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 63.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 49% above the Kansas average and 23% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 35.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Newton spends $16,229 per pupil district-wide, below the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.9% from local sources (property taxes), 63.5% from the state, and 7.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Sunset Elementary 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 | 12.5:1 | ▼ 13% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.7% | ▲ 49% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 199 | top 34% | — | — |
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
63.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 49% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 33% in Kansas — lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
35.7%
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
$16,229
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 199 Top 34% in Kansas — larger than 66% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 12.5:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 63.7% +49% vs state
NCES ID 200996002010
Student demographics
White 70.4%
Hispanic or Latino 18.6%
Two or More 9.0%
African American 1.0%
Asian 1.0%
Largest group: White at 70.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 35.7%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Newton, which includes Sunset Elementary.
$16,229
Per student
-6%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.9%
State 63.5%
Federal 7.6%
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
- 932
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 440
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 422
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Enrollment
- 345
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 316
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
Similar elementary schools in Newton
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Sunset Elementary
How many students attend Sunset Elementary?
Sunset Elementary has 199 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Newton, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunset Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sunset Elementary is 12.5:1, which is 13% lower than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 21% 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 Sunset Elementary?
63.7% of students at Sunset Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunset Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sunset Elementary is White at 70.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Newton, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunset Elementary?
Sunset Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.