Other / mixed grade configuration · Waterford, VT

Waterford Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Waterford Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 500041200363
0/100100/10044/100
👥 S:T ratio
60
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
72
📋 Attendance
13
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Waterford Elementary School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Vermont schools.

44
Resource Index · Typical
10:1
small classes for Vermont
13.0%
free-lunch eligible
140
students enrolled

Waterford Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 73% of Vermont schools. Computed live against every Vermont school reporting to NCES.

Enrollment

140

Vermont · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

14.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

10:1

vs 11.9:1 Vermont avg

-16% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

13.0%

vs 27.6% Vermont avg

-53% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Waterford Elementary School compares with Vermont and U.S. medians

At or below state median
0:135:110:1

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

What stands out at Waterford Elementary School

Waterford Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Waterford, Vermont, enrolling 140 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10:1 puts it in the smaller third of Vermont schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 13.0% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 140 puts it in the smaller third of Vermont schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 288 scored Vermont schools.

Against 41 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #18.

Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment) (diversity index 12/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 140 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78 spends $12,195 per pupil, 36% below the Vermont average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78 also operates Barnet Elementary School (135 students) and Walden School (73 students) alongside Waterford 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 Waterford Elementary School compares

Waterford Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Vermont and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Vermont Vermont avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 10:1 ▼ 16% 11.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 13.0% ▼ 53% 27.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 140 top 68% - -

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

10:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
140
Bigger than 14% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
13.0%
free-lunch eligible - 53% below the Vermont average of 27.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10:1
students per teacher - 16% below state mean
Top 27% in Vermont - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
35.0%
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
$12,195
per pupil, district-wide - below Vermont avg of $19,105
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 140 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.1 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 93.6%
Two or More 3.6%
African American 1.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1.4%

Largest group: White at 93.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 12.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 12.2, Waterford Elementary School is less mixed than the Vermont school average of 19.5.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78, which includes Waterford Elementary School.

$12,195
Per student
-36%
vs Vermont
Avg $19,105
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 2.3%
State 97.7%

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.

How Waterford Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Barnet Elementary School Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Walden School Smaller Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78 · 2 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools statewide

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

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Waterford 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 Waterford Elementary School

How many students attend Waterford Elementary School?

Waterford Elementary School has 140 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waterford, VT.

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

The student-teacher ratio at Waterford Elementary School is 10:1, which is 16% lower than the Vermont average of 11.9:1 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 Waterford Elementary School?

13.0% of students at Waterford Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Vermont average of 27.6%.

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

The largest demographic group at Waterford Elementary School is White at 93.6% of enrollment, in Waterford, VT.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Waterford Elementary School?

Waterford Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Waterford Elementary School a good school?

Waterford Elementary School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Vermont 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 Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78?

Besides Waterford Elementary School, Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78 also operates Barnet Elementary School (135 students) and Walden School (73 students). See the Caledonia Cooperative Unified School District #78 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.

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.