Enrollment
203
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 191366001963
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School — Hartley, IA
Federal NCES profile for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 57
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 19
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: Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District · Iowa
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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.9%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School compares with Iowa 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
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School reports 203 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 33% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 39.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% above the Iowa average and 23% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 203 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District spends $18,386 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.7% from local sources (property taxes), 33.6% from the state, and 11.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), 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 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 29% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.9% | ▲ 10% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 203 | top 25% | — | — |
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
39.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
— 29% below state mean
Top 6% in Iowa — lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
32.5%
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
$18,386
per pupil, district-wide
— above Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 203 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
20
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 203 Top 25% in Iowa — larger than 75% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 10.7:1 -29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 39.9% +10% vs state
NCES ID 191366001963
Student demographics
White 78.3%
Hispanic or Latino 15.3%
Two or More 4.9%
African American 1.5%
Largest group: White at 78.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 203:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.5%
In-school suspensions 20
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Comm School District, which includes Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School.
$18,386
Per student
+7%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.7%
State 33.6%
Federal 11.7%
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
- 261
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 165
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
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 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School
How many students attend Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School?
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School has 203 students enrolled. It is a high school in Hartley, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School is 10.7:1, which is 29% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 33% 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 Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School?
39.9% of students at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School?
The largest demographic group at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School is White at 78.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Hartley, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School?
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) based on 5 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.