Table 3.12. Total number of teachers and student support staff in regular public schools, average number of staff per school, and average number of students per staff in schools with such staff, by locale, school level, and type of school staff: 2003

Status of Education in Rural America

NCES 2007-040
June 2007

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Table 3.12.

Total number of teachers and student support staff in regular public schools, average number of staff per school, and average number of students per staff in schools with such staff, by locale, school level, and type of school staff: 2003–04

Type of school staff	Total				Average total number per school				Average number of students per staff in schools with such staff ¹
Type of school staff	City	Suburban	Town	Rural	City	Suburban	Town	Rural	City	Suburban	Town	Rural
Elementary
All teachers	566,000	724,000	287,000	395,000	37.8	38.6	31.4	26.6	15	15	13	13
Licensed or certified professionals
School counselors	16,100	20,500	9,700	14,500	1.1	1.1	1.1	1.0	407	400	339	317
Nurses	15,100	18,500	8,300	12,500	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.8	496	491	405	357
Social workers	9,200	9,600	3,600	4,800	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.3	467	483	388	400
Psychologists	12,200	16,200	6,000	8,200	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.6	548	517	401	378
Speech therapists	17,600	24,300	10,400	15,800	1.2	1.3	1.1	1.1	455	420	354	305
Other professionals	13,400	18,000	8,000	9,400	0.9	1.0	0.9	0.6	263	254	191	203
Aides
Instructional aides
Special education	55,800	79,700	29,000	43,100	3.7	4.2	3.2	2.9	124	110	109	104
Regular Title I ²	21,500	20,900	14,500	19,100	1.4	1.1	1.6	1.3	170	156	120	136
ESL/bilingual teacher	14,300	14,200	4,600	4,400	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.3	247	335	304	297
Library	6,000	9,700	4,800	7,200	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	544	488	380	363
Other	26,800	37,200	16,200	29,600	1.8	2.0	1.8	2.0	135	131	110	98
Noninstructional aides
Special education	9,700	13,700	8,200	7,300	0.6	0.7	0.9	0.5	864	771	469	725
Library	2,800	5,300	2,900 !	3,000	0.2	0.3	0.3 !	0.2	566	499	290 !	361
Other	11,300	18,300	6,700	7,800	0.8	1.0	0.7	0.5	196	179	151	176

Secondary
All teachers	211,000	331,000	136,000	182,000	80.7	79.0	47.9	35.0	17	16	15	14
Licensed or certified professionals
School counselors	10,100	15,800	6,100	8,600	3.9	3.8	2.1	1.6	334	323	329	298
Nurses	2,700	4,600	2,700	4,400	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.9	1,113	1,017	678	489
Social workers	1,700	2,700	1,100	1,700	0.7	0.7	0.4	0.3	987	941	664	508
Psychologists	2,200	4,200	1,800	2,900	0.8	1.0	0.6	0.6	1,255	1,075	670	524
Speech therapists	2,400	4,100	2,300	3,700	0.9	1.0	0.8	0.7	1,215	1,134	660	485
Other professionals	2,600	4,100	1,600	2,600	1.0	1.0	0.6	0.5	574	561	437	318
Aides
Instructional aides
Special education	16,300	23,000	11,400	13,700	6.2	5.5	4.0	2.6	187	198	153	153
Regular Title I ²	1,900 !	1,400 !	1,600	1,800	0.7 !	0.3 !	0.6	0.3	269 !	486	254	189
ESL/bilingual teacher	2,200	3,000	1,400	800	0.8	0.7	0.5	0.2	811	854	618	586
Library	1,500	2,500	1,400	2,100	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.4	1,118	907	688	490
Other	2,100	2,600	1,300	1,700	0.8	0.6	0.5	0.3	542	597	435	331
Noninstructional aides
Special education	3,200	4,200	2,000	2,800	1.2	1.0	0.7	0.5	1,079	1,278	1,013	933
Library	1,000	2,200	900	1,400	0.4	0.5	0.3	0.3	1,020	935	654	456
Other	1,900	3,800	1,100	1,900	0.7	0.9	0.4	0.4	483	382	439	294
! Interpret data with caution. ¹ The average number of students to staff is based on the total number of full- and part-time staff. This measure differs from pupil-teacher ratios, which are based on the total number of full-time-equivalent teachers. Student enrollment data used to calculate this ratio are for schools with such staff. ² Title I is designed to support state and local school reform efforts tied to challenging state academic standards in order to reinforce and amplify efforts to improve teaching and learning for students farthest from meeting state standards. Individual public schools with poverty rates at or above 40 percent may use Title I funds, along with other federal, state, and local funds, to operate a "schoolwide program" to upgrade the instructional program for the whole school. Schools with poverty rates below 40 percent, or those choosing not to operate a schoolwide program, offer a "targeted assistance program" in which the school identifies students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the state's challenging performance standards, then designs, in consultation with parents, staff, and district staff, an instructional program to meet the needs of those students. NOTE: All statistics shown do not distinguish between full- and part-time status of staff. Regular public schools do not include alternative, special education, special program emphasis, or vocational/technical schools. Data for combined elementary and secondary schools and for ungraded schools are excluded. ESL is English as a second language. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, "Public School Questionnaire," 2003–04.