Enrollment
841
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120150002695
Bear Lakes Middle School — West Palm Beach, FL
Federal NCES profile for Bear Lakes Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 64/100.
👥 Class size 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 58
📋 Attendance 89
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: Palm Beach · Florida
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)
57.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.8:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
73.3%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bear Lakes Middle School compares with Florida 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
Bear Lakes Middle School reports 841 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 57.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 73.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% above the Florida average and 42% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 210 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 4.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palm Beach spends $14,596 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 63.0% from local sources (property taxes), 21.7% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 64/100 (C+), 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 Bear Lakes Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.8:1 | ▼ 19% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 73.3% | ▲ 41% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 841 | top 72% | — | — |
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
73.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.8:1
students per teacher
— 19% below state mean
Top 25% in Florida — lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
4.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$14,596
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 210 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 54 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 841 Top 72% in Florida — larger than 28% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 57.0
Students per teacher 14.8:1 -19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 73.3% +41% vs state
NCES ID 120150002695
Student demographics
African American 64.0%
Hispanic or Latino 28.3%
White 5.2%
Two or More 1.3%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 64.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 210:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 4.4%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 54
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Beach, which includes Bear Lakes Middle School.
$14,596
Per student
+14%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 63.0%
State 21.7%
Federal 15.3%
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
- 3,262
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 3,122
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,881
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,819
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,809
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
Similar middle schools in West Palm Beach
5 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Bak Middle School of the Arts
Standard public school
1,246 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Conniston Middle School
Standard public school
1,153 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Jeaga Middle School
Standard public school
862 students 20.9:1 students per teacher
Roosevelt Middle School
Standard public school
793 students 14:1 students per teacher
Sports Leadership and Management (Slam) Middle School Palm B
Standard public school
324 students 23.3:1 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 Bear Lakes Middle School
How many students attend Bear Lakes Middle School?
Bear Lakes Middle School has 841 students enrolled. It is a middle school in WEST PALM BEACH, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bear Lakes Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bear Lakes Middle School is 14.8:1, which is 19% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 7% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bear Lakes Middle School?
73.3% of students at Bear Lakes Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bear Lakes Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Bear Lakes Middle School is African American at 64.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in WEST PALM BEACH, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bear Lakes Middle School?
Bear Lakes Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 64/100 (C+) 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.