Enrollment
419
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cottondale, FL
Cottondale High School
Federal NCES profile for Cottondale High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120096001075
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 16
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cottondale High School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median.
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.5:1
- students per teacher
- 52.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 419
- students enrolled
Cottondale High School has class sizes near the Florida median. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
52.5%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottondale High School compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cottondale High School
Cottondale High School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cottondale, Florida, enrolling 419 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Florida schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 52.5% lands close to the Florida typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 419 puts it in the smaller third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,996 scored Florida schools.
Among 543 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Florida schools statewide, it ranks #391, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (70%) and African American (18%) (diversity index 48/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 419 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 55.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 25.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 32 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Jackson also operates Marianna K-8 School (1,685 students) and Marianna High School (652 students) alongside Cottondale 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 Cottondale High School compares
Cottondale High School on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.5:1 | ▼ 13% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 52.5% | ▲ 1% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 419 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.5:1
Leaner classes than 42% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
419
Bigger than 50% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
52.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
- 13% below state mean
Top 39% in Florida - lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
55.4%
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
$12,182
per pupil, district-wide
- above Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 419 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
61
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 32 expulsions.
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 69.7%
African American 18.1%
Two or More 6.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 69.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 47.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 47.5, Cottondale High School is less mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jackson, which includes Cottondale High School.
$12,182
Per student
+9%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.9%
State 51.6%
Federal 25.6%
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 Cottondale High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marianna K-8 School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Marianna High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sneads Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Malone School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cottondale Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cottondale High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,685
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 652
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 574
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 559
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 471
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~419 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cottondale High School's federal record.
- Compare Cottondale High School against another school. Compare schools
- Jackson'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 Cottondale High School
How many students attend Cottondale High School?
Cottondale High School has 419 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cottondale, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottondale High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottondale High School is 15.5:1, which is 13% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 1% 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 Cottondale High School?
52.5% of students at Cottondale High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cottondale High School?
The largest demographic group at Cottondale High School is White at 69.7% of enrollment, in Cottondale, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottondale High School?
Cottondale High School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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 Cottondale High School a good school?
Cottondale High School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Florida median. 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 Jackson?
Besides Cottondale High School, Jackson also operates Marianna K-8 School (1,685 students), Marianna High School (652 students), and Sneads Elementary School (574 students). See the Jackson 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.