Enrollment
604
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Towanda, KS
Circle High
Federal NCES profile for Circle High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 201230000803
👥 S:T ratio 27
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 11
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Circle High earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of Kansas schools.
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 18.3:1
- large classes for Kansas
- 24.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 604
- students enrolled
Circle High has class sizes larger than 94% of Kansas schools. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.3:1
vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg
+33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.8%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Circle High compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Circle High
Circle High is a large high school in Towanda, Kansas, enrolling 604 students.
Class loads run heavy: 18.3:1 is larger than about 94% of Kansas schools and 33% above the 13.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 24.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 604 puts it in the larger third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,346 scored Kansas schools.
Among 178 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Kansas schools statewide, it ranks #161, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 302 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Circle spends $10,992 per pupil, 29% below the Kansas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Circle also operates Circle Greenwich Elementary (337 students) and Circle Middle School (312 students) alongside Circle 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 Circle High compares
Circle High on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.3:1 | ▲ 33% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.8% | ▼ 42% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 604 | top 12% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.3:1
Leaner classes than 23% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
604
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
24.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 42% below the Kansas average of 42.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.3:1
students per teacher
- 33% above state mean
Top 94% in Kansas - lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
35.8%
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
$10,992
per pupil, district-wide
- below Kansas avg of $15,487
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 302 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 86.6%
Hispanic or Latino 5.8%
Two or More 3.8%
African American 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 86.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.5, Circle High is less mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Circle, which includes Circle High.
$10,992
Per student
-29%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 43.0%
State 50.9%
Federal 6.0%
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 Circle High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle Greenwich Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Circle Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Circle Benton Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Circle Towanda Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Circle Oil Hill Elementary | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Circle High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 337
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 312
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 286
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 278
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 274
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~604 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Circle High's federal record.
- Compare Circle High against another school. Compare schools
- Circle'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 Circle High
How many students attend Circle High?
Circle High has 604 students enrolled. It is a high school in Towanda, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Circle High?
The student-teacher ratio at Circle High is 18.3:1, which is 33% higher than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 17% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Circle High?
24.8% of students at Circle High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Circle High?
The largest demographic group at Circle High is White at 86.6% of enrollment, in Towanda, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Circle High?
Circle High has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Circle High a good school?
Circle High earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of Kansas 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 Circle?
Besides Circle High, Circle also operates Circle Greenwich Elementary (337 students), Circle Middle School (312 students), and Circle Benton Elementary (286 students). See the Circle 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.