Enrollment
708
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 530735001107
Union Ridge Elementary — Ridgefield, WA
Federal NCES profile for Union Ridge Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 29
📋 Attendance 49
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: Ridgefield School District · Washington
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)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.9%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union Ridge Elementary compares with Washington 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
Union Ridge Elementary reports 708 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% below the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% below the Washington average and 64% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 354 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Ridgefield School District spends $15,694 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.5% from local sources (property taxes), 58.2% from the state, and 6.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D), calculated from 4 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 Union Ridge Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.2:1 | ▼ 15% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.9% | ▼ 58% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 708 | top 86% | — | — |
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
18.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.2:1
students per teacher
— 15% below state mean
Top 33% in Washington — lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,694
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 354 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 708 Top 86% in Washington — larger than 14% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 15.2:1 -15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.9% -58% vs state
NCES ID 530735001107
Student demographics
White 72.9%
Hispanic or Latino 13.3%
Two or More 9.9%
Asian 2.1%
African American 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 72.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 354:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ridgefield School District, which includes Union Ridge Elementary.
$15,694
Per student
-32%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.5%
State 58.2%
Federal 6.3%
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
- 1,249
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 758
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 666
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 616
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 200
- Students per teacher
- 24.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Ridgefield
1 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 Union Ridge Elementary
How many students attend Union Ridge Elementary?
Union Ridge Elementary has 708 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in RIDGEFIELD, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union Ridge Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Union Ridge Elementary is 15.2:1, which is 15% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Union Ridge Elementary?
18.9% of students at Union Ridge Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union Ridge Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Union Ridge Elementary is White at 72.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in RIDGEFIELD, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union Ridge Elementary?
Union Ridge Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.