Enrollment
840
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Gainesville, FL
Fort Clarke Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Fort Clarke Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 120003000032
🌟 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
Fort Clarke Middle School earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.
- #4 of 6
- middle schools in Gainesville · Resource Index
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 48.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 840
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Fort Clarke Middle School ranks #4 of 6 middle schools in Gainesville, FL.
School address
Free-lunch eligible
48.2%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-7% vs state
What stands out at Fort Clarke Middle School
Fort Clarke Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Gainesville, Florida, enrolling 840 students.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 48.2% lands close to the Florida typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 840 puts it in the larger third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,996 scored Florida schools.
Among 908 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Florida schools statewide, it ranks #713, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (40%) and African American (31%) (diversity index 71/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 420 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 286 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 840 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Alachua also operates F. W. Buchholz High School (2,416 students) and Gainesville High School (1,825 students) alongside Fort Clarke Middle 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 Fort Clarke Middle School compares
Fort Clarke Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.2% | ▼ 7% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 840 | top 28% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
840
Bigger than 87% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
48.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 7% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
43.6%
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
$10,805
per pupil, district-wide
- below 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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 420 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
144
in-school suspensions + 142 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 34.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
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 39.5%
African American 31.3%
Hispanic or Latino 16.1%
Two or More 7.7%
Asian 5.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 39.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 71.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 71.1, Fort Clarke Middle School is more mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alachua, which includes Fort Clarke Middle School.
$10,805
Per student
-3%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.3%
State 36.3%
Federal 19.4%
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 Fort Clarke Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| F. W. Buchholz High School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Gainesville High School | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Eastside High School | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Santa Fe High School | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Kanapaha Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Fort Clarke Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,416
- Students per teacher
- 30.2:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 1,825
- Students per teacher
- 29:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 1,291
- Students per teacher
- 30.7:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 1,132
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 1,014
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
Similar middle 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.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fort Clarke Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Fort Clarke Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Alachua'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 Fort Clarke Middle School
How many students attend Fort Clarke Middle School?
Fort Clarke Middle School has 840 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Gainesville, FL.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fort Clarke Middle School?
48.2% of students at Fort Clarke Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fort Clarke Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Fort Clarke Middle School is White at 39.5% of enrollment, in Gainesville, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 71.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fort Clarke Middle School?
Fort Clarke Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Fort Clarke Middle School rank among middle schools in Gainesville?
By Resource Investment Index, Fort Clarke Middle School ranks #4 of 6 middle schools in Gainesville, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Gainesville on the city page.
Is Fort Clarke Middle School a good school?
Fort Clarke Middle School earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. 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 Alachua?
Besides Fort Clarke Middle School, Alachua also operates F. W. Buchholz High School (2,416 students), Gainesville High School (1,825 students), and Eastside High School (1,291 students). See the Alachua 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.