Enrollment
815
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 040432002383
Westar Elementary School — Goodyear, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Westar Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 24/100.
👥 Class size 19
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 8
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Liberty Elementary District (4266) · Arizona
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.3:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-71% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Westar Elementary School compares with Arizona and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Westar Elementary School reports 815 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 14.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 71% below the Arizona average and 73% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 815 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 36.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Liberty Elementary District (4266) spends $13,492 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.1% from local sources (property taxes), 61.6% from the state, and 10.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Westar Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.3:1 | ▲ 15% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.0% | ▼ 71% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 815 | top 86% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
14.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 71% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.3:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 75% in Arizona — lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
36.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,492
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 815 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 28 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 815 Top 86% in Arizona — larger than 14% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 20.3:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 14.0% -71% vs state
NCES ID 040432002383
Student demographics
White 53.7%
Hispanic or Latino 31.8%
Two or More 7.0%
African American 5.9%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 53.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 815:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 36.6%
In-school suspensions 31
Out-of-school suspensions 28
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Liberty Elementary District (4266), which includes Westar Elementary School.
$13,492
Per student
-10%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.1%
State 61.6%
Federal 10.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 976
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 663
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 583
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 574
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 525
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
Similar other schools in Goodyear
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Copper Trails
Standard public school
1,020 students 27.6:1 students per teacher
Desert Thunder
Standard public school
928 students 22.8:1 students per teacher
Great Hearts Academies - Archway Trivium
Standard public school
895 students
Great Hearts Academies - Trivium Prep
Standard public school
882 students
Wildflower Accelerated Academy
Standard public school
750 students 25.3:1 students per teacher
Las Brisas Academy
Standard public school
663 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Westar Elementary School
How many students attend Westar Elementary School?
Westar Elementary School has 815 students enrolled. It is a other school in GOODYEAR, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Westar Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Westar Elementary School is 20.3:1, which is 15% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 28% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Westar Elementary School?
14.0% of students at Westar Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Westar Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Westar Elementary School is White at 53.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in GOODYEAR, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Westar Elementary School?
Westar Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.