Enrollment
706
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 361329001081
Candlewood Middle School — Dix Hills, NY
Federal NCES profile for Candlewood Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 56
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 53
📋 Attendance 58
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: Half Hollow Hills Central School District · New York
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)
66.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.9:1
vs 11.7:1 New York avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.3%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-62% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Candlewood Middle School compares with New York 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
Candlewood Middle School reports 706 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 66.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% below the New York state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 62% below the New York average and 59% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 235 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Half Hollow Hills Central School District spends $35,896 per pupil district-wide, above the New York average of $29,727 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 80.8% from local sources (property taxes), 16.0% from the state, and 3.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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 Candlewood Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New York state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.9:1 | ▼ 7% | 11.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.3% | ▼ 62% | 56.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 706 | top 82% | — | — |
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
21.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 62% below the New York average of 56.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.9:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 41% in New York — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
16.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$35,896
per pupil, district-wide
— above New York avg of $29,727
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 235 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
27
in-school suspensions + 49 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 706 Top 82% in New York — larger than 18% of 4,812 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 66.0
Students per teacher 10.9:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.3% -62% vs state
NCES ID 361329001081
Student demographics
White 40.7%
Asian 23.9%
Hispanic or Latino 16.0%
African American 13.5%
Two or More 5.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 40.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 235:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.9%
In-school suspensions 27
Out-of-school suspensions 49
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Half Hollow Hills Central School District, which includes Candlewood Middle School.
$35,896
Per student
+21%
vs New York
Avg $29,727
+84%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 80.8%
State 16.0%
Federal 3.2%
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
- 1,407
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,028
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Enrollment
- 968
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
- Enrollment
- 708
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Enrollment
- 672
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
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 Candlewood Middle School
How many students attend Candlewood Middle School?
Candlewood Middle School has 706 students enrolled. It is a middle school in DIX HILLS, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Candlewood Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Candlewood Middle School is 10.9:1, which is 7% lower than the New York average of 11.7:1 and 31% lower 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 Candlewood Middle School?
21.3% of students at Candlewood Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Candlewood Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Candlewood Middle School is White at 40.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in DIX HILLS, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Candlewood Middle School?
Candlewood Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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.