Enrollment
1,139
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 280219000384
Forest Hill High School — Jackson, MS
Federal NCES profile for Forest Hill High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 25/100.
👥 Class size 34
📚 AP courses 35
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 24
📋 Attendance 0
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: Jackson Public School District · Mississippi
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)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
+23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Forest Hill High School compares with Mississippi 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
Forest Hill High School reports 1,139 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 60.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% above the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 24% above the Mississippi average and 93% above the national baseline. The school offers 7 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 380 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 61.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Jackson Public School District spends $14,275 per pupil district-wide, above the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.7% from local sources (property taxes), 39.7% from the state, and 24.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Forest Hill High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 23% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,139 | top 95% | — | — |
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
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 23% above state mean
Top 92% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
61.2%
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
$14,275
per pupil, district-wide
— above Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 380 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 172 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 43 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,139 Top 95% in Mississippi — larger than 5% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 60.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 +23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +24% vs state
NCES ID 280219000384
Student demographics
African American 91.7%
Hispanic or Latino 5.8%
Two or More 1.3%
White 1.1%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 91.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 7
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 380:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 61.2%
In-school suspensions 9
Out-of-school suspensions 172
Expulsions 43
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jackson Public School District, which includes Forest Hill High School.
$14,275
Per student
+7%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.7%
State 39.7%
Federal 24.5%
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
- 1,259
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 994
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Enrollment
- 975
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Enrollment
- 895
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Enrollment
- 791
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
Similar high schools in Jackson
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Murrah High School
Standard public school
1,259 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Callaway High School
Standard public school
994 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Jim Hill High School
Standard public school
975 students 12.4:1 students per teacher
Lanier High School
Standard public school
895 students 13.1:1 students per teacher
Provine High School
Standard public school
791 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
Wingfield High School
Standard public school
608 students 13.8:1 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 Forest Hill High School
How many students attend Forest Hill High School?
Forest Hill High School has 1,139 students enrolled. It is a high school in JACKSON, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest Hill High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Forest Hill High School is 16.5:1, which is 23% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Forest Hill High School?
100.0% of students at Forest Hill High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Forest Hill High School?
The largest demographic group at Forest Hill High School is African American at 91.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in JACKSON, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Forest Hill High School?
Forest Hill High School has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.