Enrollment
478
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 490087000497
Highland Park School — Salt Lake City, UT
Federal NCES profile for Highland Park School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 27
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 Attendance 21
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: Salt Lake District · Utah
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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.3:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.0%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highland Park School compares with Utah 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
Highland Park School reports 478 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% below the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 15% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 16.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% below the Utah average and 69% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 239 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Salt Lake District spends $14,329 per pupil district-wide, above the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 59.3% from local sources (property taxes), 26.5% from the state, and 14.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Highland Park School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.3:1 | ▼ 21% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.0% | ▼ 43% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 478 | top 42% | — | — |
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
16.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% below the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.3:1
students per teacher
— 21% below state mean
Top 21% in Utah — lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
31.8%
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
$14,329
per pupil, district-wide
— above Utah avg of $12,354
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 239 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 478 Top 42% in Utah — larger than 58% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 18.3:1 -21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 16.0% -43% vs state
NCES ID 490087000497
Student demographics
White 81.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.4%
Two or More 5.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2.1%
African American 1.3%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 81.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 239:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.8%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salt Lake District, which includes Highland Park School.
$14,329
Per student
+16%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 59.3%
State 26.5%
Federal 14.2%
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
- 2,503
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,973
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,764
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 678
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 629
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
Similar elementary schools in Salt Lake City
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Wallace Stegner Academy
Standard public school
683 students 24.6:1 students per teacher
William Penn School
Standard public school
615 students 22.7:1 students per teacher
Butler School
Standard public school
600 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
Morningside School
Standard public school
564 students 23.9:1 students per teacher
Fox Hills School
Standard public school
553 students 22.8:1 students per teacher
Canyon Rim Academy
Standard public school
524 students 22.5:1 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 Highland Park School
How many students attend Highland Park School?
Highland Park School has 478 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in SALT LAKE CITY, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Park School?
The student-teacher ratio at Highland Park School is 18.3:1, which is 21% lower than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 15% higher 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 Highland Park School?
16.0% of students at Highland Park School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highland Park School?
The largest demographic group at Highland Park School is White at 81.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in SALT LAKE CITY, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highland Park School?
Highland Park School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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.