Enrollment
132
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Walton, KS
Walton Rural Life Center
Federal NCES profile for Walton Rural Life Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 200996002031Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Walton Rural Life Center earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% of Kansas schools.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11:1
- small classes for Kansas
- 45.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 132
- students enrolled
Walton Rural Life Center has class sizes smaller than 80% of Kansas schools. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11:1
vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.5%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Walton Rural Life Center compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Walton Rural Life Center
Walton Rural Life Center is a mid-sized charter elementary school in Walton, Kansas, enrolling 132 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 45.5% lands close to the Kansas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 132 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,346 scored Kansas schools.
Among 175 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Kansas schools statewide, it ranks #141, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 47.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Newton also operates Newton Sr High (932 students) and Santa Fe 5/6 Center (440 students) alongside Walton Rural Life Center.
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 Walton Rural Life Center compares
Walton Rural Life Center on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11:1 | ▼ 20% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.5% | ▲ 7% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 132 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11:1
Leaner classes than 83% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
132
Bigger than 13% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
45.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 7% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11:1
students per teacher
- 20% below state mean
Top 20% in Kansas - lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
47.0%
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
$15,402
per pupil, district-wide
- below Kansas avg of $15,487
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.4 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.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Newton, which includes Walton Rural Life Center.
$15,402
Per student
-1%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.9%
State 63.5%
Federal 7.6%
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 Walton Rural Life Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Sr High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Santa Fe 5/6 Center | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Chisholm Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Northridge Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Breeze Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Walton Rural Life Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 932
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 440
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 422
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 345
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 316
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
Similar elementary 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 (~132 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Walton Rural Life Center's federal record.
- Compare Walton Rural Life Center against another school. Compare schools
- Newton'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 Walton Rural Life Center
How many students attend Walton Rural Life Center?
Walton Rural Life Center has 132 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Walton, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Walton Rural Life Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Walton Rural Life Center is 11:1, which is 20% lower than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 30% 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 Walton Rural Life Center?
45.5% of students at Walton Rural Life Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Walton Rural Life Center?
Walton Rural Life Center has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Walton Rural Life Center a good school?
Walton Rural Life Center earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 80% 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 Newton?
Besides Walton Rural Life Center, Newton also operates Newton Sr High (932 students), Santa Fe 5/6 Center (440 students), and Chisholm Middle School (422 students). See the Newton 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.