Enrollment
696
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 120063000863
Bell High School — Bell, FL
Federal NCES profile for Bell High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 48
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
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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.4:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.7%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bell High 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
Bell High School reports 696 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% 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 9% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 16% below the Florida average and 16% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 348 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Gilchrist spends $14,736 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.8% from local sources (property taxes), 58.1% from the state, and 19.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), 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 Bell High 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 | 17.4:1 | ▼ 5% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.7% | ▼ 16% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 696 | top 61% | — | — |
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
43.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 16% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.4:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 56% in Florida — lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,736
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 348 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
45
in-school suspensions + 63 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 16 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 696 Top 61% in Florida — larger than 39% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 17.4:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.7% -16% vs state
NCES ID 120063000863
Student demographics
White 80.3%
Hispanic or Latino 12.9%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 80.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 348:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.0%
In-school suspensions 45
Out-of-school suspensions 63
Expulsions 16
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gilchrist, which includes Bell High School.
$14,736
Per student
+16%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.8%
State 58.1%
Federal 19.2%
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
- 779
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Enrollment
- 701
- Students per teacher
- 23.1:1
- Enrollment
- 656
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 26
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 4
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar other schools in Bell
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Bell High School
How many students attend Bell High School?
Bell High School has 696 students enrolled. It is a other school in BELL, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bell High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bell High School is 17.4:1, which is 5% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 9% higher 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 Bell High School?
43.7% of students at Bell High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bell High School?
The largest demographic group at Bell High School is White at 80.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in BELL, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bell High School?
Bell High School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.