Enrollment
300
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 220033000224
T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School — Lake Charles, LA
Federal NCES profile for T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
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
District: Calcasieu Parish · Louisiana
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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.8:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.3%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-71% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School compares with Louisiana 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
T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School reports 300 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% above the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 71% below the Louisiana average and 65% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 300 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Calcasieu Parish spends $22,016 per pupil district-wide, above the Louisiana average of $17,870 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.6% from local sources (property taxes), 27.7% from the state, and 17.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.8:1 | ▲ 1% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.3% | ▼ 71% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 300 | top 27% | — | — |
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
18.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 71% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.8:1
students per teacher
— 1% above state mean
Top 64% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$22,016
per pupil, district-wide
— above Louisiana avg of $17,870
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 300 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 300 Top 27% in Louisiana — larger than 73% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 18.8:1 +1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.3% -71% vs state
NCES ID 220033000224
Student demographics
White 67.0%
African American 14.0%
Asian 7.3%
Two or More 6.0%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 67.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 300:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Calcasieu Parish, which includes T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School.
$22,016
Per student
+23%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.6%
State 27.7%
Federal 17.7%
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
- 1,911
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,908
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,141
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,011
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,007
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
Similar elementary schools in Lake Charles
3 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 T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School
How many students attend T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School?
T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School has 300 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Lake Charles, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School?
The student-teacher ratio at T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School is 18.8:1, which is 1% higher than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School?
18.3% of students at T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School?
The largest demographic group at T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School is White at 67.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lake Charles, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School?
T. S. Cooley Elementary Magnet School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.