Enrollment
154
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · St. Joseph, LA
Tensas Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Tensas Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 220171001332
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 69
📋 Attendance 61
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Tensas Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Louisiana median.
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.4:1
- students per teacher
- 82.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 154
- students enrolled
Tensas Elementary School has class sizes near the Louisiana median. Computed live against every Louisiana school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Tensas Parish · Louisiana
NCES ID 220171001332 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 16.8:1 Louisiana avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
82.6%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tensas Elementary School compares with Louisiana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Tensas Elementary School
Tensas Elementary School is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in St. Joseph, Louisiana, enrolling 154 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Louisiana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 82.6% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of Louisiana schools, with 154 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,330 scored Louisiana schools.
Against 87 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #40.
Its student body is predominantly African American (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 154 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
15.6% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Tensas Parish spends $24,720 per pupil, 51% above the Louisiana average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 39.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among St. Joseph's public schools, it stands alongside Tensas High School (147 students): Tensas Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (15.4:1 vs 12.3:1).
Its district, Tensas Parish, also runs Tensas High School (147 students).
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 Tensas Elementary School compares
Tensas Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Louisiana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.4:1 | ▼ 8% | 16.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 82.6% | ▲ 32% | 62.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 154 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.4:1
Leaner classes than 43% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
154
Bigger than 15% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
82.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 32% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.4:1
students per teacher
- 8% below state mean
Top 40% in Louisiana - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
15.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$24,720
per pupil, district-wide
- above Louisiana avg of $16,376
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 154 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.2 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
African American 83.1%
White 9.1%
Hispanic or Latino 3.9%
Two or More 3.9%
Largest group: African American at 83.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.8, Tensas Elementary School is less mixed than the Louisiana school average of 43.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tensas Parish, which includes Tensas Elementary School.
$24,720
Per student
+51%
vs Louisiana
Avg $16,376
+49%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 37.8%
State 22.8%
Federal 39.4%
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 Tensas Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tensas High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Tensas Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 147
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
Similar other schools in St. Joseph
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Louisiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~154 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Tensas Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Tensas Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Tensas Parish'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 Tensas Elementary School
How many students attend Tensas Elementary School?
Tensas Elementary School has 154 students enrolled. It is a public school in St. Joseph, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tensas Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Tensas Elementary School is 15.4:1, which is 8% lower than the Louisiana average of 16.8:1 and 2% 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 Tensas Elementary School?
82.6% of students at Tensas Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tensas Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Tensas Elementary School is African American at 83.1% of enrollment, in St. Joseph, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tensas Elementary School?
Tensas Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (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 Tensas Elementary School a good school?
Tensas Elementary School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Louisiana 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 Tensas Parish?
Besides Tensas Elementary School, Tensas Parish also operates Tensas High School (147 students). See the Tensas Parish 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.