Enrollment
492
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 080399001727
Zach Elementary School — Fort Collins, CO
Federal NCES profile for Zach Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 59
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: Poudre School District R-1 · Colorado
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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
6.1%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-84% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Zach Elementary School compares with Colorado 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
Zach Elementary School reports 492 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% above the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 6.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 84% below the Colorado average and 88% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 492 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Poudre School District R-1 spends $17,617 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 57.5% from local sources (property taxes), 35.4% from the state, and 7.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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 Zach Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Colorado state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Colorado | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17:1 | ▲ 1% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 6.1% | ▼ 84% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 492 | top 70% | — | — |
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
6.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 84% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17:1
students per teacher
— 1% above state mean
Top 63% in Colorado — lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.5%
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
$17,617
per pupil, district-wide
— below Colorado avg of $20,949
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 492 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 492 Top 70% in Colorado — larger than 30% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 17:1 +1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 6.1% -84% vs state
NCES ID 080399001727
Student demographics
White 61.8%
Hispanic or Latino 14.2%
Asian 11.8%
Two or More 9.8%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 61.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 492:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.5%
In-school suspensions 6
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poudre School District R-1, which includes Zach Elementary School.
$17,617
Per student
-16%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 57.5%
State 35.4%
Federal 7.1%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,044
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,846
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,836
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,516
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,456
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
Similar elementary schools in Fort Collins
5 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Riffenburgh Elementary School
Standard public school
443 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
O'Dea Elementary School
Standard public school
398 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Dunn Elementary School
Standard public school
392 students 15:1 students per teacher
Werner Elementary School
Standard public school
374 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Mountain Sage Community School
Standard public school
265 students 14.4:1 students per teacher
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 Zach Elementary School
How many students attend Zach Elementary School?
Zach Elementary School has 492 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in FORT COLLINS, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Zach Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Zach Elementary School is 17:1, which is 1% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 7% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Zach Elementary School?
6.1% of students at Zach Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Zach Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Zach Elementary School is White at 61.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in FORT COLLINS, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Zach Elementary School?
Zach Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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.