Enrollment
515
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 062250013943
Helen Keller Middle — Long Beach, CA
Federal NCES profile for Helen Keller Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 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: Long Beach Unified · California
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
27:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-47% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Helen Keller Middle compares with California 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
Helen Keller Middle reports 515 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 27:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 70% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 29.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 47% below the California average and 44% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 268 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Long Beach Unified spends $19,558 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.5% from local sources (property taxes), 60.1% from the state, and 15.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D), 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 Helen Keller Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 27:1 | ▲ 25% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.2% | ▼ 47% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 515 | top 57% | — | — |
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
29.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 47% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
27:1
students per teacher
— 25% above state mean
Top 93% in California — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
11.8%
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
$19,558
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.9 FTE
Per 268 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 515 Top 57% in California — larger than 43% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 27:1 +25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 29.2% -47% vs state
NCES ID 062250013943
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 77.7%
White 10.9%
Two or More 4.3%
African American 3.7%
Asian 3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 77.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.9
Students per counselor 268:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.8%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Long Beach Unified, which includes Helen Keller Middle.
$19,558
Per student
+8%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+0%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.5%
State 60.1%
Federal 15.4%
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
- 3,890
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 3,408
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Enrollment
- 3,349
- Students per teacher
- 23.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,305
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,272
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
Similar middle schools in Long Beach
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Hughes Middle
Standard public school
1,214 students 26.4:1 students per teacher
Stanford Middle
Standard public school
1,165 students 26.2:1 students per teacher
Jefferson Leadership Academies
Standard public school
1,004 students 24.9:1 students per teacher
Franklin Classical Middle
Standard public school
991 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
Marshall Academy of the Arts
Standard public school
940 students 23.9:1 students per teacher
Washington Middle
Standard public school
849 students 23:1 students per teacher
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 Helen Keller Middle
How many students attend Helen Keller Middle?
Helen Keller Middle has 515 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Long Beach, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Helen Keller Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Helen Keller Middle is 27:1, which is 25% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 70% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Helen Keller Middle?
29.2% of students at Helen Keller Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Helen Keller Middle?
The largest demographic group at Helen Keller Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 77.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Long Beach, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Helen Keller Middle?
Helen Keller Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D) 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.