Enrollment
634
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Airway Heights, WA
Sunset Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Sunset Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 530123000227
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 60
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sunset Elementary earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.5:1
- students per teacher
- 68.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 634
- students enrolled
Sunset Elementary has class sizes near the Washington median. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Cheney School District · Washington
NCES ID 530123000227 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
68.9%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sunset Elementary compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sunset Elementary
Sunset Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Airway Heights, Washington, enrolling 634 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 68.9% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 634 puts it in the larger third of Washington schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,394 scored Washington schools.
Against 309 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #169.
Its student body is led by White (48%) and Hispanic or Latino (19%) (diversity index 70/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 634 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
16.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Cheney School District spends $14,274 per pupil, 27% below the Washington average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Cheney School District also operates Cheney High School (1,491 students) and Cheney Middle School (637 students) alongside Sunset 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 Sunset Elementary compares
Sunset 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 | 68.9% | ▲ 53% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 634 | top 18% | - | - |
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.
634
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
68.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 53% 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
16.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,274
per pupil, district-wide
- below Washington avg of $19,487
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 634 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
29
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
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 47.9%
Hispanic or Latino 18.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 14.8%
Two or More 9.8%
Asian 3.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.0%
African American 2.7%
Largest group: White at 47.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 70.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 70.2, Sunset Elementary is more mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cheney School District, which includes Sunset Elementary.
$14,274
Per student
-27%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.2%
State 65.4%
Federal 11.4%
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 Sunset Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheney High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Cheney Middle School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Westwood Middle School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Windsor Elementary | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Betz Elementary | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sunset Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,491
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 637
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 624
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 549
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 535
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
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 (~634 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sunset Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Sunset Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Cheney 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 Sunset Elementary
How many students attend Sunset Elementary?
Sunset Elementary has 634 students enrolled. It is a public school in Airway Heights, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunset Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sunset 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 Sunset Elementary?
68.9% of students at Sunset Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunset Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sunset Elementary is White at 47.9% of enrollment, in Airway Heights, WA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 70.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunset Elementary?
Sunset Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical 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 Sunset Elementary a good school?
Sunset Elementary earns 42/100 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 Cheney School District?
Besides Sunset Elementary, Cheney School District also operates Cheney High School (1,491 students), Cheney Middle School (637 students), and Westwood Middle School (624 students). See the Cheney 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.