In 2003–04, professional instructional staff accounted for 64 percent of public school staff, with teachers making up the majority of all staff.

In 2003–04, public schools employed over 5.5 million staff (see table 32-1).¹ Of these staff, 2.8 million were employed by elementary schools, 1.4 million by secondary schools, and 950,000 by middle schools. Professional instructional staff² accounted for 64 percent of public school staff, with teachers making up 57 percent of all staff. Student services professional staff³ and school aides accounted for 5 and 13 percent of public school staff, respectively.

The average number of students per staff member varied by staff type and by school characteristics (see table 32-2).⁴ In terms of school enrollment size, the average number of students per staff member was consistently higher for larger schools than for smaller schools. This finding held for all staff except school counselors. For example, for social workers and psychologists, there was an average of 156 students per staff member in schools with less than 300 students, compared with an average of 1,106 students per staff member in schools with 1,500 or more students.

In contrast with patterns for enrollment size, the average number of students per staff member was generally lower for schools with larger percentages of students approved for free or reduced-price lunch than for schools with smaller percentages of students approved for this benefit. This finding held for principals, nurses, social workers and psychologists, speech therapists, other professional staff, special needs aides, and other aides.⁵ For example, on average, there were 669 students per speech therapist in schools with 10 percent or fewer students approved for free or reduced-price lunch, compared with 512 students per speech therapist in schools with more than 75 percent of students approved for this benefit.

Differences in the average number of students per staff member were also found by school locale. Schools in rural areas generally had lower average numbers of students per staff member than did schools in other locales for principals, teachers, librarians/library media specialists, school counselors, nurses, social workers and psychologists, speech therapists, and other aides. For example, for nurses, rural schools had an average of 481 students per staff member, compared with 563 in towns, 688 in suburban areas, and 685 in cities.

¹ Data are for full- and part-time staff. Not all schools have each type of staff member. Full-time-equivalent calculations were completed for part-time staff within each staff category. (back to text)

² Professional instructional staff include principals, teachers, instructional coordinators and supervisors, librarians/library media specialists, and school counselors. (back to text)

³ Student services professional staff include nurses, social workers and psychologists, speech therapists, and other professional staff. (back to text)

⁴ Data for each staff category are derived from schools with staff members in those categories. (back to text)

⁵ Other aides include regular Title I aides, library media center instructional and noninstructional aides, and other classroom instructional and noninstructional aides. (back to text)