Enrollment
411
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Eielson Afb, AK
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School
Federal NCES profile for Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 020060000260
👥 S:T ratio 22
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 87% of Alaska schools.
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.6:1
- large classes for Alaska
- 10.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 411
- students enrolled
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School has class sizes larger than 87% of Alaska schools. Computed live against every Alaska school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Fairbanks North Star Borough School District · Alaska
NCES ID 020060000260 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.6:1
vs 15.2:1 Alaska avg
+29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.9%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-82% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School compares with Alaska and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School
Large campus carrying a heavier staffing load
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School is larger than most Alaska schools and also reports more students per teacher than the state norm. Those facts reinforce one another: this is not merely a small specialist campus whose ratio is distorted by a tiny denominator. The operational constraint is scale paired with tighter staffing. Families comparing programs should inspect whether counselors, gifted access, and other support indicators compensate for that teacher-staffing load.
Lower need and stronger resource signals align
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School reports lower free-meal eligibility than most Alaska schools and an above-typical Resource Investment Index. The two measures move together, a pattern consistent with the resource advantages that often accompany a lower-need intake. That association should not be mistaken for a causal verdict about the school; it is a transparent description of how this campus sits on two independent federal-data dimensions.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School's 28.2% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School is a lower-poverty, large combined-grade school in Eielson Afb, Alaska, enrolling 411 students.
Class loads run heavy: 19.6:1 is larger than about 87% of Alaska schools and 29% above the 15.2:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 10.9% free-meal eligibility runs 82% below the Alaska average.
Enrollment of 411 puts it in the larger third of Alaska schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 495 scored Alaska schools.
Against 38 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #5.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 206 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Fairbanks North Star Borough School District spends $17,616 per pupil, 48% below the Alaska average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 19.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District also operates Lathrop High School (788 students) and Fairbanks B.E.S.T. (784 students) alongside Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School compares
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School on the metrics families compare, against Alaska and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.6:1 | ▲ 29% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.9% | ▼ 82% | 61.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 411 | top 15% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.6:1
Leaner classes than 17% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
411
Bigger than 49% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
10.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 82% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.6:1
students per teacher
- 29% above state mean
Top 87% in Alaska - lower ratio than 13% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
28.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,616
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alaska avg of $33,705
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 206 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
43
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Programs
AP courses offered 12
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, which includes Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School.
$17,616
Per student
-48%
vs Alaska
Avg $33,705
0%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 22.1%
State 58.3%
Federal 19.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lathrop High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Fairbanks B.E.S.T. | Larger | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
| West Valley High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| North Pole High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Pole Middle School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 788
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 784
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 782
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 695
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 631
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alaska, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~411 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School's federal record.
- Compare Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School against another school. Compare schools
- Fairbanks North Star Borough School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School
How many students attend Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School?
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School has 411 students enrolled. It is a public school in Eielson Afb, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School is 19.6:1, which is 29% higher than the Alaska average of 15.2:1 and 25% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School?
10.9% of students at Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School?
Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
What other schools are in Fairbanks North Star Borough School District?
Besides Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District also operates Lathrop High School (788 students), Fairbanks B.E.S.T. (784 students), and West Valley High School (782 students). See the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.