Enrollment
369
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 191464000876
Whittier Elementary School — Indianola, IA
Federal NCES profile for Whittier Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 28
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 26
📋 Attendance 57
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: Indianola Comm School District · Iowa
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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.3%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Whittier Elementary School compares with Iowa 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
Whittier Elementary School reports 369 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 25% below the Iowa average and 47% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 369 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Indianola Comm School District spends $13,142 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.7% from local sources (property taxes), 52.4% from the state, and 7.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), 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 Whittier Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.1:1 | ▲ 21% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.3% | ▼ 25% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 369 | top 62% | — | — |
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
27.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 25% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 91% in Iowa — lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
17.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$13,142
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 369 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: 0.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 369 Top 62% in Iowa — larger than 38% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 18.1:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.3% -25% vs state
NCES ID 191464000876
Student demographics
White 85.6%
Hispanic or Latino 7.6%
Two or More 6.0%
African American 0.5%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 85.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 369:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Indianola Comm School District, which includes Whittier Elementary School.
$13,142
Per student
-24%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.7%
State 52.4%
Federal 7.9%
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
- 1,165
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 818
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 456
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 396
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 395
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
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 Whittier Elementary School
How many students attend Whittier Elementary School?
Whittier Elementary School has 369 students enrolled. It is a other school in Indianola, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Whittier Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Whittier Elementary School is 18.1:1, which is 21% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 14% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Whittier Elementary School?
27.3% of students at Whittier Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Whittier Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Whittier Elementary School is White at 85.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Indianola, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Whittier Elementary School?
Whittier Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) 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.