Enrollment
858
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 130093003305
Heritage Middle School — Ringgold, GA
Federal NCES profile for Heritage Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 77
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: Catoosa County · Georgia
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)
69.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.3%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heritage Middle School compares with Georgia 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
Heritage Middle School reports 858 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 69.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% below the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 60% below the Georgia average and 53% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 429 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Catoosa County spends $15,325 per pupil district-wide, below the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 33.6% from local sources (property taxes), 51.1% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Heritage Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.8:1 | ▼ 12% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.3% | ▼ 60% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 858 | top 73% | — | — |
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
24.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 60% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
— 12% below state mean
Top 25% in Georgia — lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
9.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$15,325
per pupil, district-wide
— below Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 429 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
79
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 858 Top 73% in Georgia — larger than 27% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 69.0
Students per teacher 12.8:1 -12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.3% -60% vs state
NCES ID 130093003305
Student demographics
White 87.9%
Hispanic or Latino 4.1%
Two or More 3.4%
Asian 2.7%
African American 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 87.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 429:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.2%
In-school suspensions 79
Out-of-school suspensions 12
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Catoosa County, which includes Heritage Middle School.
$15,325
Per student
-2%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 33.6%
State 51.1%
Federal 15.3%
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
- 1,268
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,052
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Enrollment
- 963
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Enrollment
- 725
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 647
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
Similar middle schools in Ringgold
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 Heritage Middle School
How many students attend Heritage Middle School?
Heritage Middle School has 858 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Ringgold, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heritage Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Heritage Middle School is 12.8:1, which is 12% lower than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 19% 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 Heritage Middle School?
24.3% of students at Heritage Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heritage Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Heritage Middle School is White at 87.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Ringgold, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heritage Middle School?
Heritage Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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.