Enrollment
1,052
Delaware · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bear, DE
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 100023000237
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 13
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Delaware median.
- #3 of 3
- elementary schools in Bear · Resource Index
- 22
- Resource Index · Lower
- 14:1
- students per teacher
- 1,052
- students enrolled
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary has class sizes near the Delaware median. Computed live against every Delaware school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary ranks #3 of 3 elementary schools in Bear, DE.
School address
District: Colonial School District · Delaware
NCES ID 100023000237 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
75.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14:1
vs 13.9:1 Delaware avg
+1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary compares with Delaware and U.S. medians
What stands out at Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary is a large elementary school in Bear, Delaware, enrolling 1,052 students.
At 14:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Delaware median, within a few percentage points of the 13.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Enrollment of 1,052 puts it in the larger third of Delaware schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 97% of the 222 Delaware schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is led by African American (48%) and White (25%) (diversity index 67/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 526 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Bear's elementary schools, it stands alongside Oberle (William) Elementary School (512 students): Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (14:1 vs 13.1:1).
Colonial School District also operates Penn (William) High School (2,069 students) and Bedford (Gunning) Middle School (846 students) alongside Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary.
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 Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary compares
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Delaware and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Delaware | Delaware avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14:1 | ▲ 1% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 1,052 | top 11% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14:1
Leaner classes than 57% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,052
Bigger than 92% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
14:1
students per teacher
- 1% above state mean
Top 54% in Delaware - lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
34.7%
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
$19,934
per pupil, district-wide
- above Delaware avg of $16,990
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 526 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
38
in-school suspensions + 67 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.0 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
African American 48.0%
White 25.0%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
Two or More 6.9%
Asian 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 48.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 67.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 67.4, Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary is more mixed than the Delaware school average of 61.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colonial School District, which includes Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary.
$19,934
Per student
+17%
vs Delaware
Avg $16,990
+20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.1%
State 53.5%
Federal 11.4%
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 Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn (William) High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bedford (Gunning) Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southern Elementary School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Read (George) Middle School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mccullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,069
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 846
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 729
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 662
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 615
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar elementary schools in Bear
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Delaware, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,052 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Colonial 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 Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary
How many students attend Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary?
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary has 1,052 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bear, DE.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary is 14:1, which is 1% higher than the Delaware average of 13.9:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary is African American at 48.0% of enrollment, in Bear, DE. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 67.4/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary?
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (lower 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).
How does Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary rank among elementary schools in Bear?
By Resource Investment Index, Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary ranks #3 of 3 elementary schools in Bear, DE. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Bear on the city page.
Is Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary a good school?
Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Delaware 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 Colonial School District?
Besides Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary, Colonial School District also operates Penn (William) High School (2,069 students), Bedford (Gunning) Middle School (846 students), and Southern Elementary School (729 students). See the Colonial 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.