Enrollment
257
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Atco, NJ
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center
Federal NCES profile for Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 341725005924
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 68
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of New Jersey schools.
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.9:1
- small classes for New Jersey
- 19.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 257
- students enrolled
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center has class sizes smaller than 75% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Waterford Township School District · New Jersey
NCES ID 341725005924 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.9:1
vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.5%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians
What stands out at Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Atco, New Jersey, enrolling 257 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of New Jersey schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 19.5% lands close to the New Jersey typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 257 puts it in the smaller third of New Jersey schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.
Among 394 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need New Jersey schools statewide, it ranks #292, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and Hispanic or Latino (12%) (diversity index 41/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 514 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
12.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Waterford Township School District also operates Waterford Elementary School (431 students) and Atco Elementary School (221 students) alongside Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center.
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 Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center compares
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.9:1 | ▼ 16% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.5% | ▼ 34% | 29.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 257 | top 82% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.9:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
257
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
19.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 34% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.9:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 25% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$26,467
per pupil, district-wide
- above New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 75.5%
Hispanic or Latino 12.1%
African American 6.6%
Two or More 5.1%
Asian 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 75.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 40.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 40.8, Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center is less mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waterford Township School District, which includes Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center.
$26,467
Per student
+6%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+60%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 41.4%
State 51.5%
Federal 7.1%
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 Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Atco Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 9.4:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 221
- Students per teacher
- 9.6:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~257 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center's federal record.
- Compare Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center against another school. Compare schools
- Waterford Township 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 Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center
How many students attend Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center?
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center has 257 students enrolled. It is a public school in Atco, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center is 9.9:1, which is 16% lower than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 37% 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 Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center?
19.5% of students at Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center?
The largest demographic group at Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center is White at 75.5% of enrollment, in Atco, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center?
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center 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 Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center a good school?
Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of New Jersey schools. 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 Waterford Township School District?
Besides Thomas Richards Early Childhood Center, Waterford Township School District also operates Waterford Elementary School (431 students) and Atco Elementary School (221 students). See the Waterford Township 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.