Enrollment
1,649
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Chelsea, MA
Chelsea High
Federal NCES profile for Chelsea High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 250354000482
👥 S:T ratio 40
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 67
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Chelsea High earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Massachusetts schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Massachusetts.
- #3 of 3
- high schools in Chelsea · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.1:1
- large classes for Massachusetts
- 1,649
- students enrolled
Chelsea High has class sizes larger than 88% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Chelsea High ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Chelsea, MA.
School address
District: Chelsea · Massachusetts
NCES ID 250354000482 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
109.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.1:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
+23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Chelsea High compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Chelsea High
Chelsea High is a large high school in Chelsea, Massachusetts, enrolling 1,649 students.
Class loads run heavy: 15.1:1 is larger than about 88% of Massachusetts schools and 23% above the 12.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Massachusetts, bigger than 98% of state schools at 1,649 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (89% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 21/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 11 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 165 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 42.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Chelsea's high schools, it stands alongside Phoenix Academy Charter Public High School Chelsea (198 students): Chelsea High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.1:1 vs 18:1).
Chelsea also operates Shurtleff Early Childhood (779 students) and Clark Avenue School (673 students) alongside Chelsea High.
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 Chelsea High compares
Chelsea High on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.1:1 | ▲ 23% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 1,649 | top 2% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,649
Bigger than 97% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
15.1:1
students per teacher
- 23% above state mean
Top 88% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
42.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,814
per pupil, district-wide
- below Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors10.0 FTE
Per 165 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
189
in-school suspensions + 85 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.6 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 88.7%
White 5.1%
African American 4.4%
Asian 0.9%
Two or More 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.9, Chelsea High is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chelsea, which includes Chelsea High.
$19,814
Per student
-12%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 1.9%
State 83.4%
Federal 14.7%
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 Chelsea High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shurtleff Early Childhood | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Clark Avenue School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| George F. Kelly Elementary | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Joseph a. Browne School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Frank M Sokolowski Elementary | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Chelsea High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 779
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 673
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 527
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 487
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
Similar high schools in Chelsea
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,649 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Chelsea High's federal record.
- Compare Chelsea High against another school. Compare schools
- Chelsea'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 Chelsea High
How many students attend Chelsea High?
Chelsea High has 1,649 students enrolled. It is a high school in Chelsea, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Chelsea High?
The student-teacher ratio at Chelsea High is 15.1:1, which is 23% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Chelsea High?
The largest demographic group at Chelsea High is Hispanic or Latino at 88.7% of enrollment, in Chelsea, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Chelsea High?
Chelsea High has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Chelsea High rank among high schools in Chelsea?
By Resource Investment Index, Chelsea High ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Chelsea, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Chelsea on the city page.
Is Chelsea High a good school?
Chelsea High earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Massachusetts schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Massachusetts. 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 Chelsea?
Besides Chelsea High, Chelsea also operates Shurtleff Early Childhood (779 students), Clark Avenue School (673 students), and George F. Kelly Elementary (527 students). See the Chelsea 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.