Enrollment
259
Wisconsin · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 551521001968
Valders Middle — Valders, WI
Federal NCES profile for Valders Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 45
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 72
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: Valders Area School District · Wisconsin
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)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 15.1:1 Wisconsin avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.0%
vs 38.5% Wisconsin avg
-45% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valders Middle compares with Wisconsin 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
Valders Middle reports 259 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Wisconsin state mean of 15.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 45% below the Wisconsin average and 59% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 259 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Valders Area School District spends $15,760 per pupil district-wide, below the Wisconsin average of $18,610 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 44.2% from local sources (property taxes), 44.3% from the state, and 11.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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 Valders Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Wisconsin state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Wisconsin | Wisconsin avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.8:1 | ▼ 9% | 15.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.0% | ▼ 45% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 259 | top 41% | — | — |
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
21.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 45% below the Wisconsin average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 55% in Wisconsin — lower ratio than 45% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,760
per pupil, district-wide
— below Wisconsin avg of $18,610
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 259 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
36
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 259 Top 41% in Wisconsin — larger than 59% of 2,205 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 13.8:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.0% -45% vs state
NCES ID 551521001968
Student demographics
White 90.7%
Hispanic or Latino 6.6%
Two or More 1.9%
African American 0.4%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 90.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 259:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.2%
In-school suspensions 36
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Valders Area School District, which includes Valders Middle.
$15,760
Per student
-15%
vs Wisconsin
Avg $18,610
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 44.2%
State 44.3%
Federal 11.5%
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
- 411
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 9.1:1
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 Valders Middle
How many students attend Valders Middle?
Valders Middle has 259 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Valders, WI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valders Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Valders Middle is 13.8:1, which is 9% lower than the Wisconsin average of 15.1:1 and 13% 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 Valders Middle?
21.0% of students at Valders Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Wisconsin average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valders Middle?
The largest demographic group at Valders Middle is White at 90.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Valders, WI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valders Middle?
Valders Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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.