Enrollment
1,865
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 040176000011
Catalina Foothills High School — Tucson, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Catalina Foothills High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 50/100.
👥 Class size 20
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 19
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: Catalina Foothills Unified District (4410) · Arizona
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)
94.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.1:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
7.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-84% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Catalina Foothills High School compares with Arizona 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
Catalina Foothills High School reports 1,865 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 94.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 26% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 7.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 84% below the Arizona average and 85% below the national baseline. The school offers 23 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 283 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Catalina Foothills Unified District (4410) spends $11,052 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 61.5% from local sources (property taxes), 30.3% from the state, and 8.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-), 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 Catalina Foothills High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.1:1 | ▲ 14% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 7.9% | ▼ 84% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,865 | top 97% | — | — |
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
7.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 84% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.1:1
students per teacher
— 14% above state mean
Top 73% in Arizona — lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
32.3%
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
$11,052
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.6 FTE
Per 283 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
20
in-school suspensions + 79 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,865 Top 97% in Arizona — larger than 3% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 94.0
Students per teacher 20.1:1 +14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 7.9% -84% vs state
NCES ID 040176000011
Student demographics
White 53.8%
Hispanic or Latino 30.9%
Two or More 7.3%
Asian 5.4%
African American 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 53.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 23
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 6.6
Students per counselor 283:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.3%
In-school suspensions 20
Out-of-school suspensions 79
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Catalina Foothills Unified District (4410), which includes Catalina Foothills High School.
$11,052
Per student
-27%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 61.5%
State 30.3%
Federal 8.2%
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
- 683
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 579
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 495
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 411
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
Similar high schools in Tucson
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Marana High School
Standard public school
2,437 students 20.2:1 students per teacher
Sunnyside High School
Standard public school
2,258 students 21.4:1 students per teacher
Desert View High School
Standard public school
2,102 students 21.5:1 students per teacher
Pima County Schools Superintendent'S Diploma Program
Standard public school
2,058 students
Mountain View High School
Standard public school
1,827 students 19.7:1 students per teacher
Flowing Wells High School
Standard public school
1,742 students 20.4:1 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 Catalina Foothills High School
How many students attend Catalina Foothills High School?
Catalina Foothills High School has 1,865 students enrolled. It is a high school in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Catalina Foothills High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Catalina Foothills High School is 20.1:1, which is 14% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 26% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Catalina Foothills High School?
7.9% of students at Catalina Foothills High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Catalina Foothills High School?
The largest demographic group at Catalina Foothills High School is White at 53.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Catalina Foothills High School?
Catalina Foothills High School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-) 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.