Enrollment
220
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Herron, MI
Wilson Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Wilson Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 25/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 260273003993
👥 S:T ratio 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Wilson Elementary earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 80% of Michigan schools.
- 25
- Resource Index · Lower
- 20:1
- large classes for Michigan
- 56.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 220
- students enrolled
Wilson Elementary has class sizes larger than 80% of Michigan schools. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Alpena Public Schools · Michigan
NCES ID 260273003993 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
+14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.5%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wilson Elementary compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Wilson Elementary
Wilson Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Herron, Michigan, enrolling 220 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 20:1 puts it in the larger third of Michigan schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 56.5% lands close to the Michigan typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 220 puts it in the smaller third of Michigan schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 404 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #267.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 1000 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Alpena Public Schools also operates Alpena High School (1,091 students) and Thunder Bay Junior High School (796 students) alongside Wilson 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 Wilson Elementary compares
Wilson Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20:1 | ▲ 14% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.5% | ▲ 4% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 220 | top 73% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
20:1
Leaner classes than 16% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
220
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
56.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 4% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20:1
students per teacher
- 14% above state mean
Top 80% in Michigan - lower ratio than 20% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.0%
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
$12,020
per pupil, district-wide
- below Michigan avg of $13,507
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 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 89.1%
Hispanic or Latino 5.5%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 0.9%
Largest group: White at 89.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.1, Wilson Elementary is less mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alpena Public Schools, which includes Wilson Elementary.
$12,020
Per student
-11%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.2%
State 59.7%
Federal 13.1%
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 Wilson Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpena High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Thunder Bay Junior High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Besser Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ella M White Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sanborn Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Wilson Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,091
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Resource Index
- 15/100
- Enrollment
- 796
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 470
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 440
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 15/100
- Enrollment
- 201
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~220 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~20:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Wilson Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Wilson Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Alpena 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 Wilson Elementary
How many students attend Wilson Elementary?
Wilson Elementary has 220 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Herron, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wilson Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Wilson Elementary is 20:1, which is 14% higher than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 27% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wilson Elementary?
56.5% of students at Wilson Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wilson Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Wilson Elementary is White at 89.1% of enrollment, in Herron, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wilson Elementary?
Wilson Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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).
Is Wilson Elementary a good school?
Wilson Elementary earns 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 80% of Michigan 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 Alpena Public Schools?
Besides Wilson Elementary, Alpena Public Schools also operates Alpena High School (1,091 students), Thunder Bay Junior High School (796 students), and Besser Elementary School (470 students). See the Alpena 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.