Enrollment
583
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Ocean, NJ
Wayside Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Wayside Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 341206004068
👥 S:T ratio 62
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 81
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Wayside Elementary School earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of New Jersey schools.
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.4:1
- small classes for New Jersey
- 21.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 583
- students enrolled
Wayside Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 82% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Township of Ocean School District · New Jersey
NCES ID 341206004068 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
62.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.4:1
vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.4%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wayside Elementary School compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians
What stands out at Wayside Elementary School
Wayside Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Ocean, New Jersey, enrolling 583 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of New Jersey schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 21.4% lands close to the New Jersey typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 583 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.
Against 524 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #220.
Its student body is led by White (58%) and Hispanic or Latino (21%) (diversity index 60/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 583 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 7.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Township of Ocean School District also operates Ocean Township High School (925 students) and Township of Ocean Intermediate School (889 students) alongside Wayside 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 Wayside Elementary School compares
Wayside Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.4:1 | ▼ 20% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.4% | ▼ 28% | 29.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 583 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.4:1
Leaner classes than 91% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
583
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
21.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 28% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.4:1
students per teacher
- 20% below state mean
Top 18% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
7.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$28,312
per pupil, district-wide
- above New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 583 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 58.1%
Hispanic or Latino 21.4%
African American 12.0%
Asian 5.7%
Two or More 2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 58.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.8, Wayside Elementary School is more mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Township of Ocean School District, which includes Wayside Elementary School.
$28,312
Per student
+13%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+71%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 67.4%
State 27.1%
Federal 5.5%
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.
How Wayside Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Township High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Township of Ocean Intermediate School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ocean Township Elementary School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Wanamassa Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Wayside Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 925
- Students per teacher
- 9:1
- Resource Index
- 70/100
- Enrollment
- 889
- Students per teacher
- 9:1
- Resource Index
- 69/100
- Enrollment
- 410
- Students per teacher
- 8:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 356
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~583 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Wayside Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Wayside Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Township of Ocean 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 Wayside Elementary School
How many students attend Wayside Elementary School?
Wayside Elementary School has 583 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ocean, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wayside Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wayside Elementary School is 9.4:1, which is 20% lower than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 40% 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 Wayside Elementary School?
21.4% of students at Wayside Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wayside Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Wayside Elementary School is White at 58.1% of enrollment, in Ocean, NJ. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wayside Elementary School?
Wayside Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher 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 Wayside Elementary School a good school?
Wayside Elementary School earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of New Jersey 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 Township of Ocean School District?
Besides Wayside Elementary School, Township of Ocean School District also operates Ocean Township High School (925 students), Township of Ocean Intermediate School (889 students), and Ocean Township Elementary School (410 students). See the Township of Ocean School District 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.