Enrollment
338
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010237000916
Dunbar Creative Performing Arts — Mobile, AL
Federal NCES profile for Dunbar Creative Performing Arts, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 32
📋 Attendance 24
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: Mobile County · Alabama
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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dunbar Creative Performing Arts compares with Alabama 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
Dunbar Creative Performing Arts reports 338 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 60.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 3% above the Alabama average and 16% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 338 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 30.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mobile County spends $13,185 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.3% from local sources (property taxes), 49.5% from the state, and 24.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), 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 Dunbar Creative Performing Arts compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.4:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.3% | ▲ 3% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 338 | top 24% | — | — |
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
60.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 3% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.4:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 29% in Alabama — lower ratio than 71% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
30.5%
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
$13,185
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 338 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
40
in-school suspensions + 42 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 24.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 338 Top 24% in Alabama — larger than 76% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 16.4:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 60.3% +3% vs state
NCES ID 010237000916
Student demographics
African American 82.8%
White 9.8%
Two or More 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 2.4%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: African American at 82.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 338:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 30.5%
In-school suspensions 40
Out-of-school suspensions 42
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mobile County, which includes Dunbar Creative Performing Arts.
$13,185
Per student
-9%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 49.5%
Federal 24.2%
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
- 2,271
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,888
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 1,624
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,470
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,339
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
Similar middle schools in Mobile
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Bernice J Causey Middle School
Standard public school
1,339 students 20:1 students per teacher
Cl Scarborough Model Middle School
Standard public school
641 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Burns Middle School
Standard public school
568 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
Phillips Preparatory Middle School
Standard public school
453 students 14.3:1 students per teacher
Pillans Middle School
Standard public school
440 students 24.4:1 students per teacher
Denton Magnet School of Technology
Standard public school
334 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
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 Dunbar Creative Performing Arts
How many students attend Dunbar Creative Performing Arts?
Dunbar Creative Performing Arts has 338 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mobile, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dunbar Creative Performing Arts?
The student-teacher ratio at Dunbar Creative Performing Arts is 16.4:1, which is 8% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% higher 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 Dunbar Creative Performing Arts?
60.3% of students at Dunbar Creative Performing Arts are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dunbar Creative Performing Arts?
The largest demographic group at Dunbar Creative Performing Arts is African American at 82.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mobile, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dunbar Creative Performing Arts?
Dunbar Creative Performing Arts has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) 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.