Enrollment
302
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 484431005063
Waelder School — Waelder, TX
Federal NCES profile for Waelder School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 61
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 16
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: Waelder Isd · Texas
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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-34% 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
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
Waelder School reports 302 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 34% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 39% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 95.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% above the Texas average and 84% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 302 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Waelder Isd spends $16,574 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 47.6% from local sources (property taxes), 29.8% from the state, and 22.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Waelder School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.7:1 | ▼ 34% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 95.5% | ▲ 54% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 302 | top 25% | — | — |
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
95.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
9.7:1
students per teacher
— 34% below state mean
Top 8% in Texas — lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
33.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,574
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
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
Enrollment 302 Top 25% in Texas — larger than 75% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 9.7:1 -34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 95.5% +54% vs state
NCES ID 484431005063
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.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 302:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.8%
In-school suspensions 53
Out-of-school suspensions 17
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waelder Isd, which includes Waelder School.
$16,574
Per student
-3%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
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 Waelder School
How many students attend Waelder School?
Waelder School has 302 students enrolled. It is a other school in WAELDER, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waelder School?
The student-teacher ratio at Waelder School is 9.7:1, which is 34% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 39% 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 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%. The school serves a diverse student body in WAELDER, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waelder School?
Waelder School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.