Enrollment
302
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Waelder, TX
Waelder School
Federal NCES profile for Waelder School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 484431005063
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 16
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Waelder School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 89% of Texas schools.
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.1:1
- small classes for Texas
- 95.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 302
- students enrolled
Waelder School has class sizes smaller than 89% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.1:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
95.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Waelder School compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Waelder School
Waelder School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Waelder, Texas, enrolling 302 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.1:1, Waelder School is leaner than roughly 89% of Texas schools and 31% under the state's 14.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 95.5% of students qualify for free meals, 54% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 302 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 774 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #211.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 302 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 22.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 70 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 302 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Waelder Isd operates only this one school, so Waelder School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Waelder School compares
Waelder School on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.1:1 | ▼ 31% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 95.5% | ▲ 54% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 302 | top 75% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.1:1
Leaner classes than 88% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
302
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
95.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 54% above the Texas average of 61.9%
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
10.1:1
students per teacher
- 31% below state mean
Top 11% in Texas - lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
33.8%
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
$15,525
per pupil, district-wide
- above Texas avg of $13,644
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 302 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 23.2 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
Hispanic or Latino 85.8%
White 7.6%
African American 5.0%
Two or More 1.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 85.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 25.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 25.5, Waelder School is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waelder Isd, which includes Waelder School.
$15,525
Per student
+14%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 47.6%
State 29.8%
Federal 22.7%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Texas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~302 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Waelder School's federal record.
- Compare Waelder School against another school. Compare schools
- Waelder Isd'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 Waelder School
How many students attend Waelder School?
Waelder School has 302 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waelder, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waelder School?
The student-teacher ratio at Waelder School is 10.1:1, which is 31% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 36% lower 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 Waelder School?
95.5% of students at Waelder School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Waelder School?
The largest demographic group at Waelder School is Hispanic or Latino at 85.8% of enrollment, in Waelder, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waelder School?
Waelder School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Waelder School a good school?
Waelder School earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 89% of Texas 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 Waelder Isd?
None reported; Waelder Isd operates only Waelder School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.