Enrollment
606
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Pepperell, MA
Varnum Brook
Federal NCES profile for Varnum Brook, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 250879002281
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 44
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Varnum Brook earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Massachusetts median.
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.6:1
- students per teacher
- 606
- students enrolled
Varnum Brook has class sizes near the Massachusetts median. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: North Middlesex · Massachusetts
NCES ID 250879002281 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
48.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.6:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
+2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Varnum Brook compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Varnum Brook
Varnum Brook is a mid-sized elementary school in Pepperell, Massachusetts, enrolling 606 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.6:1 puts it in the larger third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 606 puts it in the larger third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by White (79%) and Hispanic or Latino (10%) (diversity index 36/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 202 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Among Pepperell's elementary schools, it stands alongside Nissitissit Middle School (494 students): Varnum Brook is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (12.6:1 vs 9.7:1).
North Middlesex also operates North Middlesex Regional (711 students) and Nissitissit Middle School (494 students) alongside Varnum Brook.
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 Varnum Brook compares
Varnum Brook on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.6:1 | ▲ 2% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 606 | top 25% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.6:1
Leaner classes than 70% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
606
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
12.6:1
students per teacher
- 2% above state mean
Top 62% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 38% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,769
per pupil, district-wide
- below Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 202 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 79.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.7%
Asian 4.1%
African American 3.5%
Two or More 3.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 79.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 36.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 36.2, Varnum Brook is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for North Middlesex, which includes Varnum Brook.
$19,769
Per student
-12%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 53.3%
State 40.0%
Federal 6.8%
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 Varnum Brook Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Middlesex Regional | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Nissitissit Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Hawthorne Brook | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Spaulding Memorial | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ashby Elementary | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Varnum Brook's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 711
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 494
- Students per teacher
- 9.7:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 449
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 413
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 152
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar elementary schools in Pepperell
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~606 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Varnum Brook's federal record.
- Compare Varnum Brook against another school. Compare schools
- North Middlesex'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 Varnum Brook
How many students attend Varnum Brook?
Varnum Brook has 606 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Pepperell, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Varnum Brook?
The student-teacher ratio at Varnum Brook is 12.6:1, which is 2% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Varnum Brook?
The largest demographic group at Varnum Brook is White at 79.0% of enrollment, in Pepperell, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Varnum Brook?
Varnum Brook has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Varnum Brook a good school?
Varnum Brook earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Massachusetts 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 North Middlesex?
Besides Varnum Brook, North Middlesex also operates North Middlesex Regional (711 students), Nissitissit Middle School (494 students), and Hawthorne Brook (449 students). See the North Middlesex 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.