Enrollment
206
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cherokee, AL
Cherokee High School
Federal NCES profile for Cherokee High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010084000333
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cherokee High School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Alabama schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.3:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 40.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 206
- students enrolled
Cherokee High School has class sizes smaller than 99% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Colbert County · Alabama
NCES ID 010084000333 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-42% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cherokee High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cherokee High School
Cherokee High School is a small combined-grade school in Cherokee, Alabama, enrolling 206 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.3:1, Cherokee High School is leaner than roughly 99% of Alabama schools and 42% under the state's 17.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 40.3% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 92% of Alabama schools, with 206 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 94% of the 1,365 Alabama schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 39 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #9.
Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 206 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 18.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 62 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 206 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Among Cherokee's public schools, it stands alongside Cherokee Elementary School (226 students): Cherokee High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.3:1 vs 11.9:1).
Colbert County also operates Colbert Heights Elementary School (486 students) and Colbert Heights High School (467 students) alongside Cherokee High School.
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 Cherokee High School compares
Cherokee High School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 42% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.3% | ▼ 31% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 206 | top 92% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
206
Bigger than 20% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
40.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 31% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 42% below state mean
Top 1% in Alabama - lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
28.2%
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
$13,961
per pupil, district-wide
- above Alabama avg of $12,491
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 206 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
51
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 24.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.1 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
White 82.0%
African American 8.7%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
Two or More 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
Largest group: White at 82.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 31.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 31.6, Cherokee High School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colbert County, which includes Cherokee High School.
$13,961
Per student
+12%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.7%
State 47.3%
Federal 18.0%
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 Cherokee High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colbert Heights Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Colbert Heights High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Colbert County High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Leighton Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hatton Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cherokee High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 486
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 467
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 438
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 355
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 236
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
Similar other schools in Cherokee
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~206 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cherokee High School's federal record.
- Compare Cherokee High School against another school. Compare schools
- Colbert County'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 Cherokee High School
How many students attend Cherokee High School?
Cherokee High School has 206 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cherokee, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cherokee High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cherokee High School is 10.3:1, which is 42% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 34% 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 Cherokee High School?
40.3% of students at Cherokee High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cherokee High School?
The largest demographic group at Cherokee High School is White at 82.0% of enrollment, in Cherokee, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cherokee High School?
Cherokee High School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Cherokee High School a good school?
Cherokee High School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of Alabama 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 Colbert County?
Besides Cherokee High School, Colbert County also operates Colbert Heights Elementary School (486 students), Colbert Heights High School (467 students), and Colbert County High School (438 students). See the Colbert County 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.