Enrollment
517
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 200642001878
Wheatridge Middle School — Gardner, KS
Federal NCES profile for Wheatridge Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 48
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: Gardner Edgerton · Kansas
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)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.6%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wheatridge Middle School compares with Kansas 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
Wheatridge Middle School reports 517 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% below the Kansas state mean of 14.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the Kansas average and 33% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 259 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Gardner Edgerton spends $14,773 per pupil district-wide, below the Kansas average of $17,342 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.6% from local sources (property taxes), 68.3% from the state, and 8.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-), 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 Wheatridge Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 10% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.6% | ▼ 19% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 517 | top 83% | — | — |
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
34.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% below the Kansas average of 42.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
— 10% below state mean
Top 39% in Kansas — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
20.7%
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
$14,773
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kansas avg of $17,342
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 259 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 18 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 517 Top 83% in Kansas — larger than 17% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 12.9:1 -10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.6% -19% vs state
NCES ID 200642001878
Student demographics
White 72.9%
Hispanic or Latino 11.6%
Two or More 8.1%
African American 5.8%
Asian 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 72.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 259:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.7%
In-school suspensions 53
Out-of-school suspensions 18
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gardner Edgerton, which includes Wheatridge Middle School.
$14,773
Per student
-15%
vs Kansas
Avg $17,342
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.6%
State 68.3%
Federal 8.1%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,794
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 679
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 548
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 521
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 380
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
Similar elementary schools in Gardner
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Wheatridge Middle School
How many students attend Wheatridge Middle School?
Wheatridge Middle School has 517 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Gardner, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wheatridge Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wheatridge Middle School is 12.9:1, which is 10% lower than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 19% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wheatridge Middle School?
34.6% of students at Wheatridge Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wheatridge Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Wheatridge Middle School is White at 72.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Gardner, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wheatridge Middle School?
Wheatridge Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-) 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.