Enrollment
311
Maryland · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Willards, MD
Willards Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Willards Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 240069001322
👥 S:T ratio 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 5
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Willards Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 75% of Maryland schools.
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.4:1
- large classes for Maryland
- 56.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 311
- students enrolled
Willards Elementary has class sizes larger than 75% of Maryland schools. Computed live against every Maryland school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Wicomico County Public Schools · Maryland
NCES ID 240069001322 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 14.5:1 Maryland avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.6%
vs 49.0% Maryland avg
+16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Willards Elementary compares with Maryland and U.S. medians
What stands out at Willards Elementary
Willards Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Willards, Maryland, enrolling 311 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.4:1 puts it in the larger third of Maryland schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 56.6% lands close to the Maryland typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 311 puts it in the smaller third of Maryland schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,382 scored Maryland schools.
Among 152 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Maryland schools statewide, it ranks #121, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (80% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 311 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Wicomico County Public Schools also operates James M. Bennett High (1,474 students) and Wicomico High (1,304 students) alongside Willards 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 Willards Elementary compares
Willards Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Maryland and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maryland | Maryland avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.4:1 | ▲ 13% | 14.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.6% | ▲ 16% | 49.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 311 | top 84% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.4:1
Leaner classes than 35% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
311
Bigger than 34% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
56.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% above the Maryland average of 49.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.4:1
students per teacher
- 13% above state mean
Top 75% in Maryland - lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
37.9%
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
$17,780
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maryland avg of $20,446
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 311 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 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 80.4%
Two or More 9.3%
Hispanic or Latino 6.8%
African American 3.5%
Largest group: White at 80.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.9, Willards Elementary is less mixed than the Maryland school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wicomico County Public Schools, which includes Willards Elementary.
$17,780
Per student
-13%
vs Maryland
Avg $20,446
+7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.7%
State 66.2%
Federal 14.1%
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.
How Willards Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| James M. Bennett High | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Wicomico High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Parkside High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Prince Street School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bennett Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Willards Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,474
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,304
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,272
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 976
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 963
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maryland, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~311 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Willards Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Willards Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Wicomico County Public Schools'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 Willards Elementary
How many students attend Willards Elementary?
Willards Elementary has 311 students enrolled. It is a public school in Willards, MD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Willards Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Willards Elementary is 16.4:1, which is 13% higher than the Maryland average of 14.5:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Willards Elementary?
56.6% of students at Willards Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maryland average of 49.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Willards Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Willards Elementary is White at 80.4% of enrollment, in Willards, MD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Willards Elementary?
Willards Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical 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 Willards Elementary a good school?
Willards Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 75% of Maryland 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 Wicomico County Public Schools?
Besides Willards Elementary, Wicomico County Public Schools also operates James M. Bennett High (1,474 students), Wicomico High (1,304 students), and Parkside High (1,272 students). See the Wicomico County Public Schools 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.