Enrollment
365
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 180387002664
Gary Middle School — Gary, IN
Federal NCES profile for Gary Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 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: Gary Community School Corp · Indiana
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
15.5:1
vs 16.1:1 Indiana avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
89.0%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
+80% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Gary Middle School compares with Indiana 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
Gary Middle School reports 365 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Indiana state mean of 16.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 89.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 80% above the Indiana average and 72% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 365 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 80.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Gary Community School Corp spends $22,286 per pupil district-wide, above the Indiana average of $14,559 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.4% from local sources (property taxes), 50.2% from the state, and 21.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Gary Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Indiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.5:1 | ▼ 4% | 16.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 89.0% | ▲ 80% | 49.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 365 | top 34% | — | — |
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
89.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 80% above the Indiana average of 49.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 51% in Indiana — lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
80.5%
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
$22,286
per pupil, district-wide
— above Indiana avg of $14,559
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 365 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
160
in-school suspensions + 166 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 43.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 89.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 365 Top 34% in Indiana — larger than 66% of 1,865 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 15.5:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 89.0% +80% vs state
NCES ID 180387002664
Student demographics
African American 91.5%
Hispanic or Latino 4.9%
Two or More 2.7%
White 0.5%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 91.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 365:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 80.5%
In-school suspensions 160
Out-of-school suspensions 166
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gary Community School Corp, which includes Gary Middle School.
$22,286
Per student
+53%
vs Indiana
Avg $14,559
+14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.4%
State 50.2%
Federal 21.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,232
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Enrollment
- 566
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 450
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 374
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
Similar middle schools in Gary
1 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 Gary Middle School
How many students attend Gary Middle School?
Gary Middle School has 365 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Gary, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gary Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Gary Middle School is 15.5:1, which is 4% lower than the Indiana average of 16.1:1 and 3% lower 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 Gary Middle School?
89.0% of students at Gary Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gary Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Gary Middle School is African American at 91.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Gary, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Gary Middle School?
Gary Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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.