Enrollment
347
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Hale, MI
Hale Area School
Federal NCES profile for Hale Area School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 261737005412
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 Attendance 18
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Hale Area School earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median.
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.8:1
- students per teacher
- 70.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 347
- students enrolled
Hale Area School has class sizes near the Michigan median. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Hale Area Schools · Michigan
NCES ID 261737005412 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
70.6%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hale Area School compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Hale Area School
Hale Area School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Hale, Michigan, enrolling 347 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Michigan schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 70.6% of students eligible for free meals.
With 347 students, its enrollment sits close to the Michigan median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 516 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #129.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 14/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 347 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 20.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Hale Area Schools operates only this one school, so Hale Area School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Hale Area School compares
Hale Area School on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▼ 10% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 70.6% | ▲ 30% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 347 | top 52% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.8:1
Leaner classes than 40% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
347
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
70.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 30% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
- 10% below state mean
Top 40% in Michigan - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
32.6%
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
$14,108
per pupil, district-wide
- above Michigan avg of $13,507
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 347 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 92.5%
Hispanic or Latino 3.7%
Two or More 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
African American 0.3%
Largest group: White at 92.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 14.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 14.2, Hale Area School is less mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hale Area Schools, which includes Hale Area School.
$14,108
Per student
+4%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 68.1%
State 11.1%
Federal 20.8%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~347 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Hale Area School's federal record.
- Compare Hale Area School against another school. Compare schools
- Hale Area Schools'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 Hale Area School
How many students attend Hale Area School?
Hale Area School has 347 students enrolled. It is a public school in Hale, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hale Area School?
The student-teacher ratio at Hale Area School is 15.8:1, which is 10% lower than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hale Area School?
70.6% of students at Hale Area School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hale Area School?
The largest demographic group at Hale Area School is White at 92.5% of enrollment, in Hale, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hale Area School?
Hale Area School has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Hale Area School a good school?
Hale Area School earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Michigan median. 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 Hale Area Schools?
None reported; Hale Area Schools operates only Hale Area School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.