Enrollment
112
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Waterville, KS
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville
Federal NCES profile for Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 201278001382
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 91
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 82% of Kansas schools.
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 16:1
- large classes for Kansas
- 41.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 112
- students enrolled
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville has class sizes larger than 82% of Kansas schools. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Valley Heights · Kansas
NCES ID 201278001382 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
7.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg
+16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.9%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Waterville, Kansas, enrolling 112 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16:1 puts it in the larger third of Kansas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 41.9% lands close to the Kansas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 112 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,346 scored Kansas schools.
Against 147 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #66.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 224 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 3.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Valley Heights also operates Valley Heights Jr/Sr High (166 students) and Valley Heights Elem (120 students) alongside Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville.
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 Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville compares
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16:1 | ▲ 16% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.9% | ▼ 2% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 112 | top 82% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16:1
Leaner classes than 38% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
112
Bigger than 11% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
41.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% 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
16:1
students per teacher
- 16% above state mean
Top 82% in Kansas - lower ratio than 18% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
3.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$16,414
per pupil, district-wide
- above Kansas avg of $15,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
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 90.2%
Hispanic or Latino 7.1%
African American 2.7%
Largest group: White at 90.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 18.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 18.1, Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville is less mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Valley Heights, which includes Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville.
$16,414
Per student
+6%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.2%
State 69.5%
Federal 7.4%
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 Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Heights Jr/Sr High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Valley Heights Elem | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 166
- Students per teacher
- 9.8:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 120
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
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 (~112 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville's federal record.
- Compare Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville against another school. Compare schools
- Valley Heights'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 Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville
How many students attend Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville?
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville has 112 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waterville, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville?
The student-teacher ratio at Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville is 16:1, which is 16% higher than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 2% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville?
41.9% of students at Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville?
The largest demographic group at Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville is White at 90.2% of enrollment, in Waterville, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville?
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville a good school?
Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 82% of Kansas 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 Valley Heights?
Besides Valley Heights Elementary - Waterville, Valley Heights also operates Valley Heights Jr/Sr High (166 students) and Valley Heights Elem (120 students). See the Valley Heights 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.