Number of regular public school teachers and student support staff, average number of students per staff, and percent of schools with such staff, by school poverty status and type of school staff: School year 2003

Contexts of Elementary and Secondary Education: Tables

School Characteristics and Climate

Table 35-2. Number of regular public school teachers and student support staff, average number of students per staff, and percent of schools with such staff, by school poverty status and type of school staff: School year 2003–04

	Number of staff					Percent of schools
Type of school staff	Total	Full-time	Part-time	Per school¹	Average number of students per staff in schools with such staff²	With such staff³	With full- time staff

High-poverty
All teachers	459,000	440,000	19,800	37.5	14	100	100
All student support staff	191,000	134,000	56,500	15.6	34	100	95
Licensed or certified professionals	65,800	36,800	28,900	5.4	99	99	83
School counselors	14,400	11,700	2,700	1.2	380	82	66
Nurses	11,800	6,300	5,500	1.0	491	85	46
Social workers	6,800	3,400	3,300	0.6	470	46	23
Psychologists	7,900	2,500	5,400	0.6	547	59	19
Speech therapists	13,700	6,900	6,800	1.1	448	90	46
Other professionals	11,200	6,000	5,200	0.9	260	41	21
Teacher aides	125,100	97,600	27,500	10.2	51	97	89
Instructional aides	109,800	88,200	21,600	9.0	59	96	87
Special education	38,200	32,700	5,500	3.1	147	81	70
Regular Title I	28,300	21,400	6,900	2.3	144	61	50
ESL/bilingual teacher	15,000	11,500	3,500	1.2	210	41	31
Library	4,900	3,600	1,300	0.4	509	36	27
Other	23,400	19,000	4,300	1.9	132	46	38
Noninstructional aides	15,400	9,400	5,900	1.3	427	43	30
Special education	5,000	4,200	800	0.4	1,302	17	14
Library	1,900	1,200	700	0.2	555	15	10
Other	8,400	4,000	4,400	0.7	207	24	15

Low-poverty
All teachers	673,000	612,000	61,100	45.9	15	100	100
All student support staff	230,000	142,000	87,200	15.6	43	100	95
Licensed or certified professionals	90,700	50,100	40,600	6.2	110	99	87
School counselors	24,200	20,400	3,800	1.6	346	77	62
Nurses	14,600	8,500	6,200	1.0	601	86	53
Social workers	7,800	3,100	4,700	0.5	620	46	18
Psychologists	13,100	4,400	8,700	0.9	634	80	26
Speech therapists	17,300	7,900	9,400	1.2	520	90	45
Other professionals	13,700	5,800	7,900	0.9	311	40	18
Teacher aides	138,900	92,300	46,600	9.5	71	97	86
Instructional aides	107,600	73,200	34,400	7.3	96	92	80
Special education	64,400	48,500	15,900	4.4	129	82	70
Regular Title I	5,800	3,300	2,600	0.4	250	16	11
ESL/bilingual teacher	5,400	1,900	3,500	0.4	587	29	11
Library	8,400	5,400	3,000	0.6	554	45	30
Other	23,600	14,100	9,500	1.6	165	42	29
Noninstructional aides	31,300	19,100	12,200	2.1	319	53	36
Special education	11,700	8,800	2,900	0.8	852	25	19
Library	5,100	3,200	1,900	0.3	627	28	18
Other	14,500	7,200	7,400	1.0	207	27	14

¹ Does not distinguish between full- and part-time status of staff.
² The average number of students per staff is based on student enrollment in schools with such staff and the total number of full- and part-time staff. This measure differs from pupil/teacher ratios that 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.
³ This measure is intended to reveal how many schools have access to staff; it does not distinguish between the full- and part-time status of such staff.
NOTE: Regular public schools do not include alternative, special education, special program emphasis, or vocational/technical schools. High-poverty schools are those where at least 75 percent of students are approved for free or reduced-price lunches; low-poverty schools are those where less than 15 percent of students are approved for free or reduced-price lunches. Data for combined elementary and secondary schools and for ungraded schools are excluded. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), “Public School Data File,” 2003–04.

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