Enrollment
945
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120168003935
Heron Creek Middle School — North Port, FL
Federal NCES profile for Heron Creek Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 37
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
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)
59.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.1%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heron Creek Middle School compares with Florida 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
Heron Creek Middle School reports 945 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 59.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 60.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 16% above the Florida average and 16% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 315 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sarasota spends $14,758 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 77.1% from local sources (property taxes), 11.5% from the state, and 11.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Heron Creek Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▼ 16% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.1% | ▲ 16% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 945 | top 78% | — | — |
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
60.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 16% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 31% in Florida — lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.3%
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
$14,758
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 315 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 83 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 945 Top 78% in Florida — larger than 22% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 59.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 60.1% +16% vs state
NCES ID 120168003935
Student demographics
White 60.3%
Hispanic or Latino 21.3%
Two or More 8.9%
African American 7.7%
Asian 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 60.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 315:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.3%
In-school suspensions 53
Out-of-school suspensions 83
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sarasota, which includes Heron Creek Middle School.
$14,758
Per student
+16%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 77.1%
State 11.5%
Federal 11.3%
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
- 2,637
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 2,579
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,359
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar middle schools in North Port
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 Heron Creek Middle School
How many students attend Heron Creek Middle School?
Heron Creek Middle School has 945 students enrolled. It is a middle school in NORTH PORT, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heron Creek Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Heron Creek Middle School is 15.3:1, which is 16% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 4% 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 Heron Creek Middle School?
60.1% of students at Heron Creek Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heron Creek Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Heron Creek Middle School is White at 60.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in NORTH PORT, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heron Creek Middle School?
Heron Creek Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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.