Enrollment
3,162
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 060159602857 Charter school
Birmingham Community Charter High — Lake Balboa, CA
Federal NCES profile for Birmingham Community Charter High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 6
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 31
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: Birmingham Community Charter High District · California
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)
130.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
+30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Birmingham Community Charter High compares with California 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
Birmingham Community Charter High reports 3,162 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 130.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 48% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 72.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% above the California average and 40% above the national baseline. The school offers 20 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 198 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 27.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Birmingham Community Charter High District spends $16,661 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.6% from local sources (property taxes), 60.8% from the state, and 15.6% 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 5 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 Birmingham Community Charter High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.5:1 | ▲ 9% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.4% | ▲ 30% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 3,162 | top 100% | — | — |
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
72.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.5:1
students per teacher
— 9% above state mean
Top 67% in California — lower ratio than 33% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
27.8%
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
$16,661
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors16.0 FTE
Per 198 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 124 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 3,162 Top 100% in California — larger than 0% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 130.0
Students per teacher 23.5:1 +9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 72.4% +30% vs state
NCES ID 060159602857
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 86.2%
White 4.7%
African American 3.9%
Asian 3.5%
Two or More 1.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 86.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 20
Counselors (FTE) 16.0
Students per counselor 198:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 27.8%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 124
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Birmingham Community Charter High District, which includes Birmingham Community Charter High.
$16,661
Per student
-8%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.6%
State 60.8%
Federal 15.6%
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.
Similar high schools in Lake Balboa
3 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Birmingham Community Charter High
How many students attend Birmingham Community Charter High?
Birmingham Community Charter High has 3,162 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lake Balboa, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Birmingham Community Charter High?
The student-teacher ratio at Birmingham Community Charter High is 23.5:1, which is 9% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 48% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Birmingham Community Charter High?
72.4% of students at Birmingham Community Charter High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Birmingham Community Charter High?
The largest demographic group at Birmingham Community Charter High is Hispanic or Latino at 86.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lake Balboa, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Birmingham Community Charter High?
Birmingham Community Charter High has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 5 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.