Middle school (grades 6-8) · Kansas City, MO

Congress Middle

Federal NCES profile for Congress Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 292355002418
0/100100/10051/100
👥 S:T ratio
55
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
40
📋 Attendance
40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Congress Middle earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Missouri schools.

#4 of 23
middle schools in Kansas City · Resource Index
51
Resource Index · Higher
11.3:1
students per teacher
19.2%
free-lunch eligible

Congress Middle has class sizes near the Missouri median. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Congress Middle ranks #4 of 23 middle schools in Kansas City, MO.

School address

Enrollment

601

Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

53.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.3:1

vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg

-12% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

19.2%

vs 46.1% Missouri avg

-58% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Congress Middle compares with Missouri and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Congress Middle

Congress Middle is a lower-poverty, large middle school in Kansas City, Missouri, enrolling 601 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Missouri schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 19.2% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 601 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,313 scored Missouri schools.

Against 389 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #148.

Its student body is led by White (62%) and African American (15%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 58/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 301 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Kansas City's middle schools, it stands alongside Gateway 6th Grade Center (882 students): Congress Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.3:1 vs 14.7:1).

Park Hill also operates Park Hill High (1,947 students) and Park Hill South High (1,890 students) alongside Congress Middle.

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 Congress Middle compares

Congress Middle on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Missouri Missouri avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 11.3:1 ▼ 12% 12.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 19.2% ▼ 58% 46.1% 51.7%
Enrollment 601 top 15% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

11.3:1
Leaner classes than 81% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
601
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
19.2%
free-lunch eligible - 58% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.3:1
students per teacher - 12% below state mean
Top 31% in Missouri - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.0%
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
$13,846
per pupil, district-wide - above Missouri avg of $12,931
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 301 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
77
in-school suspensions + 35 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.6 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

White 61.7%
African American 14.5%
Hispanic or Latino 11.8%
Two or More 5.8%
Asian 3.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2.5%

Largest group: White at 61.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 57.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 57.9, Congress Middle is more mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Park Hill, which includes Congress Middle.

$13,846
Per student
+7%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 68.7%
State 21.7%
Federal 9.6%

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 Congress Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Park Hill High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Park Hill South High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Walden Middle Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Plaza Middle Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Lakeview Middle Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Congress Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Park Hill · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Kansas City

1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Congress Middle's federal record.

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 Congress Middle

How many students attend Congress Middle?

Congress Middle has 601 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Kansas City, MO.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Congress Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Congress Middle is 11.3:1, which is 12% lower than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 28% 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 Congress Middle?

19.2% of students at Congress Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Congress Middle?

The largest demographic group at Congress Middle is White at 61.7% of enrollment, in Kansas City, MO. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.9/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Congress Middle?

Congress Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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).

How does Congress Middle rank among middle schools in Kansas City?

By Resource Investment Index, Congress Middle ranks #4 of 23 middle schools in Kansas City, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Kansas City on the city page.

Is Congress Middle a good school?

Congress Middle earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Missouri 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 Park Hill?

Besides Congress Middle, Park Hill also operates Park Hill High (1,947 students), Park Hill South High (1,890 students), and Walden Middle (730 students). See the Park Hill district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.