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Ambridge, Pennsylvania - 5 schools
An equity score of 39/100 ranks Ambridge Area Sd #418 of 648 districts in Pennsylvania (state average 49). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $14,271 per pupil, Ambridge Area Sd ranks #612 of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending (Pennsylvania districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,254
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$14,271
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Ambridge Area Sd operates 5 public schools serving 2,254 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Pennsylvania. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 combined, 1 high, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Beaver County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $14,271 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 68 of 671 Pennsylvania districts by per-pupil spending. See how Pennsylvania compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 48.7% local, 39.9% state, and 11.4% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 39/100, ranked #418 of 648 in Pennsylvania against a state average of 49, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (15 AP courses district-wide), a 426.3:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 31.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 75.0% White, 15.2% African American, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Highland El Sch, with a diversity index of 55.7/100.
Its largest campus is Ambridge Area Hs, enrolling 705 students (32% of the district's total enrollment).
Ambridge Area Hs accounts for 31.3% of all Ambridge Area Sd student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Ambridge Area Sd-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Ambridge Area Sd school enrollment varies 2.9× across entities
Ambridge Area Sd school enrollment ranges from 241 students (lowest) to 705 students (highest), a spread of 464 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Ambridge Area Sd has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 98.1% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Ambridge Area Sd student-counselor ratio is 426:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Ambridge Area Sd chronic absenteeism rate is 31.2% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Ambridge Area Sd has 5 schools, including 1 high, 1 middle, 3 combined. Total enrollment is 2,254 students.
How much does Ambridge Area Sd spend per student?
Ambridge Area Sd spends $14,271 per student. The district has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #418 in Pennsylvania.
What is the demographic composition of Ambridge Area Sd?
Ambridge Area Sd students are 75.0% White, 15.2% African American, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Ambridge Area Sd?
Ambridge Area Sd has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #418 out of 648 districts in Pennsylvania.