Other / mixed grade configuration · Detroit, MI

Vernor Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Vernor Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 24/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 260110304848
0/100100/10024/100
👥 S:T ratio
35
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
32
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Vernor Elementary School earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Michigan schools.

#29 of 75
schools in Detroit · Resource Index
24
Resource Index · Lower
16.2:1
students per teacher
86.9%
free-lunch eligible

Vernor Elementary School has class sizes near the Michigan median. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Vernor Elementary School ranks #29 of 75 schools in Detroit, MI.

Enrollment

340

Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

21.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.2:1

vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg

-7% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

86.9%

vs 54.3% Michigan avg

+60% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Vernor Elementary School compares with Michigan and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Vernor Elementary School

Vernor Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Detroit, Michigan, enrolling 340 students.

At 16.2:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Michigan median, within a few percentage points of the 17.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need is high: 86.9% of students qualify for free meals, 60% above the Michigan average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 340 students, its enrollment sits close to the Michigan median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,375 scored Michigan schools.

Against 414 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #194.

Its student body is predominantly African American (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 4/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 340 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 80.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Detroit Public Schools Community District spends $21,771 per pupil, 61% above the Michigan average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 19.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Detroit's public schools, it stands alongside Earhart Elementarymiddle School (1,002 students): Vernor Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.2:1 vs 20.4:1).

Detroit Public Schools Community District also operates Cass Technical High School (2,493 students) and Western International High School (1,959 students) alongside Vernor Elementary School.

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 Vernor Elementary School compares

Vernor Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Michigan Michigan avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.2:1 ▼ 7% 17.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 86.9% ▲ 60% 54.3% 51.7%
Enrollment 340 top 53% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.2:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
340
Bigger than 38% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
86.9%
free-lunch eligible - 60% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher - 7% below state mean
Top 44% in Michigan - lower ratio than 56% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
80.0%
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
$21,771
per pupil, district-wide - above Michigan avg of $13,507
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 340 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.2 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

African American 97.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Hispanic or Latino 0.6%
White 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: African American at 97.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 4.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 4.1, Vernor Elementary School is less mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Detroit Public Schools Community District, which includes Vernor Elementary School.

$21,771
Per student
+61%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
+31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 39.1%
State 41.7%
Federal 19.1%

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 Vernor Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Cass Technical High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Western International High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Renaissance High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Earhart Elementarymiddle School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Martin Luther King Jr Senior High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Vernor Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Detroit Public Schools Community District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Detroit

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Vernor Elementary School's federal record.

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 Vernor Elementary School

How many students attend Vernor Elementary School?

Vernor Elementary School has 340 students enrolled. It is a public school in Detroit, MI.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Vernor Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Vernor Elementary School is 16.2:1, which is 7% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Vernor Elementary School?

86.9% of students at Vernor Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vernor Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Vernor Elementary School is African American at 97.9% of enrollment, in Detroit, MI.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Vernor Elementary School?

Vernor Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (lower 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).

How does Vernor Elementary School rank among schools in Detroit?

By Resource Investment Index, Vernor Elementary School ranks #29 of 75 schools in Detroit, MI. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Detroit on the city page.

Is Vernor Elementary School a good school?

Vernor Elementary School earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Michigan 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 Detroit Public Schools Community District?

Besides Vernor Elementary School, Detroit Public Schools Community District also operates Cass Technical High School (2,493 students), Western International High School (1,959 students), and Renaissance High School (1,197 students). See the Detroit Public Schools Community District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.