Enrollment
254
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Waterloo, SC
Waterloo Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Waterloo Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450261000558
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 15
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Waterloo Elementary earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of South Carolina schools.
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.1:1
- small classes for South Carolina
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 254
- students enrolled
Waterloo Elementary has class sizes smaller than 78% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Laurens 55 · South Carolina
NCES ID 450261000558 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.1:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Waterloo Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Waterloo Elementary
Waterloo Elementary is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Waterloo, South Carolina, enrolling 254 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the South Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 254 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Against 157 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #81.
Its student body is led by White (73%) and African American (15%) (diversity index 43/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 254 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 20.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Laurens 55 also operates Laurens District 55 High (1,434 students) and Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle (715 students) alongside Waterloo Elementary.
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 Waterloo Elementary compares
Waterloo Elementary on the metrics families compare, against South Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.1:1 | ▼ 15% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 254 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.1:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
254
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 35% above the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.1:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 22% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
33.9%
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
$13,000
per pupil, district-wide
- below South Carolina avg of $14,558
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 254 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.3 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 73.2%
African American 15.4%
Two or More 6.7%
Hispanic or Latino 3.9%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: White at 73.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 43.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 43.4, Waterloo Elementary is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Laurens 55, which includes Waterloo Elementary.
$13,000
Per student
-11%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.9%
State 49.5%
Federal 20.6%
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 Waterloo Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens District 55 High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hickory Tavern Elementary/Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Laurens Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| E. B. Morse Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Waterloo Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,434
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 715
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 623
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 465
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 447
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~254 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Waterloo Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Waterloo Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Laurens 55'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 Waterloo Elementary
How many students attend Waterloo Elementary?
Waterloo Elementary has 254 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waterloo, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waterloo Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Waterloo Elementary is 12.1:1, which is 15% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 23% 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 Waterloo Elementary?
100.0% of students at Waterloo Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Waterloo Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Waterloo Elementary is White at 73.2% of enrollment, in Waterloo, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waterloo Elementary?
Waterloo Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Waterloo Elementary a good school?
Waterloo Elementary earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of South Carolina 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 Laurens 55?
Besides Waterloo Elementary, Laurens 55 also operates Laurens District 55 High (1,434 students), Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle (715 students), and Hickory Tavern Elementary/Middle (623 students). See the Laurens 55 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.