Enrollment
76
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Tampa, FL
Bowers-Whitley Career Center
Federal NCES profile for Bowers-Whitley Career Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 120087004155
👥 S:T ratio 66
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 85
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bowers-Whitley Career Center earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Florida schools.
- #1 of 20
- high schools in Tampa · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 8.4:1
- small classes for Florida
- 63.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Bowers-Whitley Career Center has class sizes smaller than 95% of Florida schools. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Bowers-Whitley Career Center ranks #1 of 20 high schools in Tampa, FL.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-53% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.0%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bowers-Whitley Career Center compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bowers-Whitley Career Center
Bowers-Whitley Career Center is a higher-need, small high school in Tampa, Florida, enrolling 76 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.4:1, Bowers-Whitley Career Center is leaner than roughly 95% of Florida schools and 53% under the state's 17.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 63.0% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of Florida schools, with 76 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 3,996 Florida schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 76 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #19.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (45%) and African American (28%) (diversity index 69/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 76 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Its district draws 16.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Hillsborough also operates Florida Connections Academy (5,748 students) and Jule F Sumner High School (3,602 students) alongside Bowers-Whitley Career Center.
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 Bowers-Whitley Career Center compares
Bowers-Whitley Career Center on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.4:1 | ▼ 53% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.0% | ▲ 21% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 76 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.4:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
76
Bigger than 8% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
63.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 21% 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
8.4:1
students per teacher
- 53% below state mean
Top 5% in Florida - lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$9,835
per pupil, district-wide
- below Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 76 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 44.7%
African American 27.6%
White 15.8%
Two or More 10.5%
Asian 1.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 44.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 68.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 68.8, Bowers-Whitley Career Center is more mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hillsborough, which includes Bowers-Whitley Career Center.
$9,835
Per student
-12%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 43.2%
State 40.7%
Federal 16.1%
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.
How Bowers-Whitley Career Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Connections Academy | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Jule F Sumner High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Newsome High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Alonso High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Plant City High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bowers-Whitley Career Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 5,748
- Students per teacher
- 40.5:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 3,602
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 3,157
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 2,863
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 2,572
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~76 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bowers-Whitley Career Center's federal record.
- Compare Bowers-Whitley Career Center against another school. Compare schools
- Hillsborough'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 Bowers-Whitley Career Center
How many students attend Bowers-Whitley Career Center?
Bowers-Whitley Career Center has 76 students enrolled. It is a high school in Tampa, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bowers-Whitley Career Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Bowers-Whitley Career Center is 8.4:1, which is 53% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 46% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bowers-Whitley Career Center?
63.0% of students at Bowers-Whitley Career Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bowers-Whitley Career Center?
The largest demographic group at Bowers-Whitley Career Center is Hispanic or Latino at 44.7% of enrollment, in Tampa, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bowers-Whitley Career Center?
Bowers-Whitley Career Center has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Bowers-Whitley Career Center rank among high schools in Tampa?
By Resource Investment Index, Bowers-Whitley Career Center ranks #1 of 20 high schools in Tampa, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Tampa on the city page.
Is Bowers-Whitley Career Center a good school?
Bowers-Whitley Career Center earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Florida schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Hillsborough?
Besides Bowers-Whitley Career Center, Hillsborough also operates Florida Connections Academy (5,748 students), Jule F Sumner High School (3,602 students), and Newsome High School (3,157 students). See the Hillsborough 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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.