Enrollment
397
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sharpsville, IN
Tri Central Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Tri Central Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 180804002227
👥 S:T ratio 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 21
📋 Attendance 56
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Tri Central Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Indiana median.
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.5:1
- students per teacher
- 41.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 397
- students enrolled
Tri Central Elementary has class sizes near the Indiana median. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Tri-Central Community Schools · Indiana
NCES ID 180804002227 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.6%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tri Central Elementary compares with Indiana and U.S. medians
What stands out at Tri Central Elementary
Tri Central Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sharpsville, Indiana, enrolling 397 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.5:1 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 41.6% of students eligible for free meals.
With 397 students, its enrollment sits close to the Indiana median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,862 scored Indiana schools.
Against 525 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #332.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 397 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
17.6% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Sharpsville's public schools, it stands alongside Tri Central Middle-High School (389 students): Tri Central Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.5:1 vs 12.5:1).
Its district, Tri-Central Community Schools, also runs Tri Central Middle-High School (389 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 Tri Central Elementary compares
Tri Central Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 4% | 15.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.6% | ▼ 16% | 49.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 397 | top 60% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.5:1
Leaner classes than 34% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
397
Bigger than 47% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
41.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 65% in Indiana - lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
17.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$11,187
per pupil, district-wide
- below Indiana avg of $12,079
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 397 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 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 89.4%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
Two or More 4.3%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.3%
Largest group: White at 89.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.6, Tri Central Elementary is less mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tri-Central Community Schools, which includes Tri Central Elementary.
$11,187
Per student
-7%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.3%
State 58.0%
Federal 7.7%
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.
How Tri Central Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tri Central Middle-High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Tri Central Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 389
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
Similar other schools in Sharpsville
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 Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~397 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Tri Central Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Tri Central Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Tri-Central Community Schools'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 Tri Central Elementary
How many students attend Tri Central Elementary?
Tri Central Elementary has 397 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sharpsville, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tri Central Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Tri Central Elementary is 16.5:1, which is 4% higher than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tri Central Elementary?
41.6% of students at Tri Central Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tri Central Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Tri Central Elementary is White at 89.4% of enrollment, in Sharpsville, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tri Central Elementary?
Tri Central Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Tri Central Elementary a good school?
Tri Central Elementary earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Indiana 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 Tri-Central Community Schools?
Besides Tri Central Elementary, Tri-Central Community Schools also operates Tri Central Middle-High School (389 students). See the Tri-Central Community Schools 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.