Enrollment
460
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Waveland, MS
Waveland Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Waveland Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 280057001376
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 8
📋 Attendance 45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Waveland Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median.
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.8:1
- students per teacher
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 460
- students enrolled
Waveland Elementary School has class sizes near the Mississippi median. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280057001376 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Waveland Elementary School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Waveland Elementary School
Waveland Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Waveland, Mississippi, enrolling 460 students.
At 12.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Mississippi median, within a few percentage points of the 13.3:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 460 students, its enrollment sits close to the Mississippi median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Against 259 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #110.
Its student body is led by White (59%) and African American (24%) (diversity index 58/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 460 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist spends $14,358 per pupil, 20% above the Mississippi average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 28.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist also operates Bay High School (491 students) and Bay Waveland Middle School (365 students) alongside Waveland 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 Waveland Elementary School compares
Waveland Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.8:1 | ▼ 4% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 460 | top 42% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
460
Bigger than 56% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 43% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 57% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.2%
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
$14,358
per pupil, district-wide
- above Mississippi avg of $11,990
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 460 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.3 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 59.1%
African American 23.5%
Two or More 10.4%
Hispanic or Latino 6.1%
Asian 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 59.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 58.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 58.1, Waveland Elementary School is more mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist, which includes Waveland Elementary School.
$14,358
Per student
+20%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.7%
State 33.2%
Federal 28.1%
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 Waveland Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bay Waveland Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| North Bay Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Waveland Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 491
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 365
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 348
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~460 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Waveland Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Waveland Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist'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 Waveland Elementary School
How many students attend Waveland Elementary School?
Waveland Elementary School has 460 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waveland, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waveland Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Waveland Elementary School is 12.8:1, which is 4% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 18% 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 Waveland Elementary School?
100.0% of students at Waveland Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Waveland Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Waveland Elementary School is White at 59.1% of enrollment, in Waveland, MS. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 58.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waveland Elementary School?
Waveland Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Waveland Elementary School a good school?
Waveland Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median. 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 Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist?
Besides Waveland Elementary School, Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist also operates Bay High School (491 students), Bay Waveland Middle School (365 students), and North Bay Elementary School (348 students). See the Bay St Louis Waveland School Dist 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.