Enrollment
488
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 261644000563
Burton Middle School — Grand Rapids, MI
Federal NCES profile for Burton Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 15/100.
👥 Class size 28
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 0
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: Grand Rapids Public Schools · Michigan
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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.9:1
vs 18.2:1 Michigan avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.9%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Burton Middle School compares with Michigan 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
Burton Middle School reports 488 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the Michigan state mean of 18.2:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 85.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% above the Michigan average and 66% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 488 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 61.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Grand Rapids Public Schools spends $19,650 per pupil district-wide, above the Michigan average of $15,842 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.7% from local sources (property taxes), 45.7% from the state, and 21.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 15/100 (F), 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 Burton Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Michigan state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.9:1 | ▼ 2% | 18.2:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.9% | ▲ 58% | 54.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 488 | top 73% | — | — |
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
85.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.9:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 61% in Michigan — lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
61.9%
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
$19,650
per pupil, district-wide
— above Michigan avg of $15,842
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 488 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 162 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 33.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 488 Top 73% in Michigan — larger than 27% of 3,399 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 17.9:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 85.9% +58% vs state
NCES ID 261644000563
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 73.4%
African American 21.9%
White 2.7%
Two or More 1.4%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 73.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 488:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 61.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 162
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Grand Rapids Public Schools, which includes Burton Middle School.
$19,650
Per student
+24%
vs Michigan
Avg $15,842
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.7%
State 45.7%
Federal 21.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 955
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 881
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 708
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 661
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 494
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
Similar middle schools in Grand Rapids
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Pinewood Middle School
Standard public school
842 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
East Grand Rapids Middle School
Standard public school
710 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
Crestwood Middle School
Standard public school
700 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Kenowa Hills Middle School
Standard public school
634 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Valleywood Middle School
Standard public school
541 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Northern Hills Middle School
Standard public school
515 students 18.8:1 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 Burton Middle School
How many students attend Burton Middle School?
Burton Middle School has 488 students enrolled. It is a middle school in GRAND RAPIDS, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Burton Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Burton Middle School is 17.9:1, which is 2% lower than the Michigan average of 18.2:1 and 13% 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 Burton Middle School?
85.9% of students at Burton Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Burton Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Burton Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 73.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in GRAND RAPIDS, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Burton Middle School?
Burton Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 15/100 (F) 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.