Enrollment
391
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 050756000468
Heber Springs Middle School — Heber Springs, AR
Federal NCES profile for Heber Springs Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 50/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 22
📋 Attendance 71
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: Heber Springs School District · Arkansas
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)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.5%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heber Springs Middle School compares with Arkansas 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
Heber Springs Middle School reports 391 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 24.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% below the Arkansas average and 31% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 391 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Heber Springs School District spends $11,103 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.8% from local sources (property taxes), 26.9% from the state, and 21.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-), 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 Heber Springs Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▲ 16% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.5% | ▼ 40% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 391 | top 49% | — | — |
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
35.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 16% above state mean
Top 68% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
11.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$11,103
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 391 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
104
in-school suspensions + 28 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 26.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 33.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 391 Top 49% in Arkansas — larger than 51% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 24.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 +16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.5% -40% vs state
NCES ID 050756000468
Student demographics
White 90.0%
Two or More 4.9%
Hispanic or Latino 3.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 90.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 391:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.5%
In-school suspensions 104
Out-of-school suspensions 28
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Heber Springs School District, which includes Heber Springs Middle School.
$11,103
Per student
-22%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.8%
State 26.9%
Federal 21.3%
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
- 743
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 483
- Students per teacher
- 8.5:1
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 Heber Springs Middle School
How many students attend Heber Springs Middle School?
Heber Springs Middle School has 391 students enrolled. It is a middle school in HEBER SPRINGS, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heber Springs Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Heber Springs Middle School is 15.8:1, which is 16% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Heber Springs Middle School?
35.5% of students at Heber Springs Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heber Springs Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Heber Springs Middle School is White at 90.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in HEBER SPRINGS, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heber Springs Middle School?
Heber Springs Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-) 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.