Enrollment
130
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Watersmeet, MI
Watersmeet Township School
Federal NCES profile for Watersmeet Township School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 263534007153
👥 S:T ratio 71
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 74
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Watersmeet Township School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Michigan schools.
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 7.2:1
- small classes for Michigan
- 65.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 130
- students enrolled
Watersmeet Township School has class sizes smaller than 95% of Michigan schools. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Watersmeet Township School District · Michigan
NCES ID 263534007153 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7.2:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
-59% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.3%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+20% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Watersmeet Township School compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Watersmeet Township School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Watersmeet Township School sits near the smaller end of the Michigan enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Resource indicators are the standout signal
Watersmeet Township School's economic-need measure is not at a state extreme, while its Resource Investment Index is. The campus outranks most Michigan schools on the combined reported-resource measure, so the differentiator comes from staffing, counselor access, gifted programming, or attendance rather than from an unusually low-need population alone. The component breakdown identifies which inputs actually produce that placement.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Watersmeet Township School's 60.0% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Watersmeet Township School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Watersmeet, Michigan, enrolling 130 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 7.2:1, Watersmeet Township School is leaner than roughly 95% of Michigan schools and 59% under the state's 17.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 65.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 130 puts it in the smaller third of Michigan schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 192 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #34.
Its student body is led by American Indian / Alaska Native (71%) and White (26%) (diversity index 43/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 130 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 60.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Watersmeet Township School District spends $29,444 per pupil, 118% above the Michigan average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 23.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 31 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 130 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Watersmeet Township School District operates only this one school, so Watersmeet Township 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 Watersmeet Township School compares
Watersmeet Township School on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 7.2:1 | ▼ 59% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.3% | ▲ 20% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 130 | top 83% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
7.2:1
Leaner classes than 96% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
130
Bigger than 13% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
65.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 20% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
7.2:1
students per teacher
- 59% below state mean
Top 5% in Michigan - lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
60.0%
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
$29,444
per pupil, district-wide
- above Michigan avg of $13,507
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 130 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 31 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 23.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Student demographics
American Indian / Alaska Native 70.8%
White 26.2%
Two or More 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino 0.8%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 70.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 42.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 42.9, Watersmeet Township School is more mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Watersmeet Township School District, which includes Watersmeet Township School.
$29,444
Per student
+118%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
+77%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 65.5%
State 11.0%
Federal 23.5%
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 Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~130 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Watersmeet Township School's federal record.
- Compare Watersmeet Township School against another school. Compare schools
- Watersmeet Township School District'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 Watersmeet Township School
How many students attend Watersmeet Township School?
Watersmeet Township School has 130 students enrolled. It is a public school in Watersmeet, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Watersmeet Township School?
The student-teacher ratio at Watersmeet Township School is 7.2:1, which is 59% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 54% 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 Watersmeet Township School?
65.3% of students at Watersmeet Township School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Watersmeet Township School?
The largest demographic group at Watersmeet Township School is American Indian / Alaska Native at 70.8% of enrollment, in Watersmeet, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Watersmeet Township School?
Watersmeet Township School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
What other schools are in Watersmeet Township School District?
None reported; Watersmeet Township School District operates only Watersmeet Township 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.