Enrollment
811
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120168002460
Booker Middle School — Sarasota, FL
Federal NCES profile for Booker Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 39
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)
59.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.1:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
68.0%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Booker 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
Booker Middle School reports 811 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 59.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% 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 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 68.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 31% above the Florida average and 31% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 270 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sarasota spends $14,758 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 77.1% from local sources (property taxes), 11.5% from the state, and 11.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Booker 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 | 16.1:1 | ▼ 12% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 68.0% | ▲ 31% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 811 | top 70% | — | — |
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
68.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 31% 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
16.1:1
students per teacher
— 12% below state mean
Top 41% in Florida — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.5%
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
$14,758
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 270 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
50
in-school suspensions + 105 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 19.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 811 Top 70% in Florida — larger than 30% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 59.0
Students per teacher 16.1:1 -12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 68.0% +31% vs state
NCES ID 120168002460
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 51.3%
White 20.1%
African American 19.4%
Two or More 8.4%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 51.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 270:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.5%
In-school suspensions 50
Out-of-school suspensions 105
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sarasota, which includes Booker Middle School.
$14,758
Per student
+16%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 77.1%
State 11.5%
Federal 11.3%
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
- 2,637
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 2,579
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,359
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar middle schools in Sarasota
4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Sarasota Middle School
Standard public school
1,290 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences
Standard public school
747 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Brookside Middle School
Standard public school
724 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Mcintosh Middle School
Standard public school
693 students 16.4:1 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 Booker Middle School
How many students attend Booker Middle School?
Booker Middle School has 811 students enrolled. It is a middle school in SARASOTA, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Booker Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Booker Middle School is 16.1:1, which is 12% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 1% 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 Booker Middle School?
68.0% of students at Booker Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Booker Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Booker Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 51.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in SARASOTA, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Booker Middle School?
Booker Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.