Enrollment
137
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Thayer, KS
Thayer Schools
Federal NCES profile for Thayer Schools, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 200474001867
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Thayer Schools earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Kansas median.
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.5:1
- students per teacher
- 40.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 137
- students enrolled
Thayer Schools has class sizes near the Kansas median. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.3%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Thayer Schools compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Thayer Schools
Thayer Schools is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Thayer, Kansas, enrolling 137 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 40.3% lands close to the Kansas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 137 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,346 scored Kansas schools.
Among 185 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Kansas schools statewide, it ranks #137, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 228 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Cherryvale also operates Cherryvale Sr / Middle School (277 students) and Lincoln Central Elem (268 students) alongside Thayer Schools.
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 Thayer Schools compares
Thayer Schools on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 9% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.3% | ▼ 6% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 137 | top 77% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
137
Bigger than 13% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
40.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 6% below 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
- 9% below state mean
Top 38% in Kansas - lower ratio than 62% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.6%
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
$15,380
per pupil, district-wide
- below Kansas avg of $15,487
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.6 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.2 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
White 89.1%
Two or More 5.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
Largest group: White at 89.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.2, Thayer Schools is less mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cherryvale, which includes Thayer Schools.
$15,380
Per student
-1%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 7.1%
State 82.3%
Federal 10.6%
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.
How Thayer Schools Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherryvale Sr / Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lincoln Central Elem | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Thayer Schools's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 277
- Students per teacher
- 9.6:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 268
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~137 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Thayer Schools's federal record.
- Compare Thayer Schools against another school. Compare schools
- Cherryvale'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 Thayer Schools
How many students attend Thayer Schools?
Thayer Schools has 137 students enrolled. It is a public school in Thayer, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thayer Schools?
The student-teacher ratio at Thayer Schools is 12.5:1, which is 9% lower than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 20% 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 Thayer Schools?
40.3% of students at Thayer Schools are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thayer Schools?
The largest demographic group at Thayer Schools is White at 89.1% of enrollment, in Thayer, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Thayer Schools?
Thayer Schools has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Thayer Schools a good school?
Thayer Schools earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Kansas 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 Cherryvale?
Besides Thayer Schools, Cherryvale also operates Cherryvale Sr / Middle School (277 students) and Lincoln Central Elem (268 students). See the Cherryvale 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.