Enrollment
1,543
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 130111001970
Dean Rusk Middle School — Canton, GA
Federal NCES profile for Dean Rusk Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 40
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: Cherokee County · Georgia
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)
97.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.0%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dean Rusk Middle School compares with Georgia 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
Dean Rusk Middle School reports 1,543 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 97.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% above the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the Georgia average and 63% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 309 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cherokee County spends $13,227 per pupil district-wide, below the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.1% from local sources (property taxes), 38.7% from the state, and 10.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Dean Rusk Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.2:1 | ▲ 5% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.0% | ▼ 69% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,543 | top 93% | — | — |
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
19.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.2:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 67% in Georgia — lower ratio than 33% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.2%
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
$13,227
per pupil, district-wide
— below Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 309 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
195
in-school suspensions + 133 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 13 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,543 Top 93% in Georgia — larger than 7% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 97.0
Students per teacher 15.2:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.0% -69% vs state
NCES ID 130111001970
Student demographics
White 65.0%
Hispanic or Latino 18.0%
African American 6.9%
Two or More 6.0%
Asian 4.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 65.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 309:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.2%
In-school suspensions 195
Out-of-school suspensions 133
Expulsions 13
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cherokee County, which includes Dean Rusk Middle School.
$13,227
Per student
-16%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.1%
State 38.7%
Federal 10.3%
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
- 3,012
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,393
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,039
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,021
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,006
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
Similar middle schools in Canton
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Dean Rusk Middle School
How many students attend Dean Rusk Middle School?
Dean Rusk Middle School has 1,543 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Canton, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dean Rusk Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Dean Rusk Middle School is 15.2:1, which is 5% higher than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dean Rusk Middle School?
19.0% of students at Dean Rusk Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dean Rusk Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Dean Rusk Middle School is White at 65.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Canton, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dean Rusk Middle School?
Dean Rusk Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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.