Enrollment
258
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040315000245
Colonel Smith Middle School — Fort Huachuca, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Colonel Smith Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 18
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: Fort Huachuca Accommodation District (4167) · 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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
9.7%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-80% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Colonel Smith Middle 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
Colonel Smith Middle School reports 258 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% below the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 18% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 9.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 80% below the Arizona average and 81% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 258 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fort Huachuca Accommodation District (4167) spends $20,343 per pupil district-wide, above the Arizona average of $15,070 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 2.4% from local sources (property taxes), 39.1% from the state, and 58.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Colonel Smith Middle 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 | 13:1 | ▼ 27% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 9.7% | ▼ 80% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 258 | top 34% | — | — |
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
9.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 80% 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
13:1
students per teacher
— 27% below state mean
Top 16% in Arizona — lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
32.6%
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
$20,343
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arizona avg of $15,070
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 258 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 258 Top 34% in Arizona — larger than 66% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 13:1 -27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 9.7% -80% vs state
NCES ID 040315000245
Student demographics
White 50.0%
Hispanic or Latino 32.2%
Two or More 10.1%
African American 5.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.6%
Asian 0.8%
Largest group: White at 50.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 258:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.6%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 24
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fort Huachuca Accommodation District (4167), which includes Colonel Smith Middle School.
$20,343
Per student
+35%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 2.4%
State 39.1%
Federal 58.5%
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
- 270
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Enrollment
- 246
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
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 Colonel Smith Middle School
How many students attend Colonel Smith Middle School?
Colonel Smith Middle School has 258 students enrolled. It is a middle school in FORT HUACHUCA, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Colonel Smith Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Colonel Smith Middle School is 13:1, which is 27% lower than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 18% 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 Colonel Smith Middle School?
9.7% of students at Colonel Smith Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Colonel Smith Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Colonel Smith Middle School is White at 50.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in FORT HUACHUCA, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Colonel Smith Middle School?
Colonel Smith Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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.