Elementary school (grades K-5) · Chelsea, MA

William a Berkowitz Elementary

Federal NCES profile for William a Berkowitz Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 250354000847
0/100100/10033/100
👥 S:T ratio
48
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
21
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

William a Berkowitz Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Massachusetts median.

#4 of 7
elementary schools in Chelsea · Resource Index
33
Resource Index · Typical
13:1
students per teacher
455
students enrolled

William a Berkowitz Elementary has class sizes near the Massachusetts median. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, William a Berkowitz Elementary ranks #4 of 7 elementary schools in Chelsea, MA.

School address

Enrollment

455

Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

35.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13:1

vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg

+6% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How William a Berkowitz Elementary compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at William a Berkowitz Elementary

William a Berkowitz Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Chelsea, Massachusetts, enrolling 455 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13:1 puts it in the larger third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.

With 455 students, its enrollment sits close to the Massachusetts median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 24/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Chelsea's elementary schools, it stands alongside Clark Avenue School (673 students): William a Berkowitz Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13:1 vs 13.5:1).

Chelsea also operates Chelsea High (1,649 students) and Shurtleff Early Childhood (779 students) alongside William a Berkowitz 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 William a Berkowitz Elementary compares

William a Berkowitz Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Massachusetts Massachusetts avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13:1 ▲ 6% 12.3:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 455 top 43% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
455
Bigger than 56% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher - 6% above state mean
Top 68% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
31.6%
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
$19,814
per pupil, district-wide - below Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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

Hispanic or Latino 87.0%
White 6.2%
African American 5.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Asian 0.2%
Two or More 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 23.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 23.6, William a Berkowitz Elementary is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chelsea, which includes William a Berkowitz Elementary.

$19,814
Per student
-12%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 1.9%
State 83.4%
Federal 14.7%

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 William a Berkowitz Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Chelsea High Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Shurtleff Early Childhood Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Clark Avenue School Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
George F. Kelly Elementary Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Joseph a. Browne School Similar size No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to William a Berkowitz Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Chelsea · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Chelsea

6 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 Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on William a Berkowitz Elementary's federal record.

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 William a Berkowitz Elementary

How many students attend William a Berkowitz Elementary?

William a Berkowitz Elementary has 455 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Chelsea, MA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at William a Berkowitz Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at William a Berkowitz Elementary is 13:1, which is 6% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 17% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of William a Berkowitz Elementary?

The largest demographic group at William a Berkowitz Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 87.0% of enrollment, in Chelsea, MA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for William a Berkowitz Elementary?

William a Berkowitz Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does William a Berkowitz Elementary rank among elementary schools in Chelsea?

By Resource Investment Index, William a Berkowitz Elementary ranks #4 of 7 elementary schools in Chelsea, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Chelsea on the city page.

Is William a Berkowitz Elementary a good school?

William a Berkowitz Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Massachusetts 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 Chelsea?

Besides William a Berkowitz Elementary, Chelsea also operates Chelsea High (1,649 students), Shurtleff Early Childhood (779 students), and Clark Avenue School (673 students). See the Chelsea district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

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.