Enrollment
685
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120048000765
Highlands Middle School — Jacksonville, FL
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 35/100.
👥 Class size 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 32
📋 Attendance 29
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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.5:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.6%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands 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
Highlands Middle School reports 685 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% above the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 72.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% above the Florida average and 40% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 343 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 28.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Duval spends $11,534 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 40.9% from local sources (property taxes), 39.3% from the state, and 19.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F), 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 Highlands 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 | 22.5:1 | ▲ 23% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.6% | ▲ 40% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 685 | top 59% | — | — |
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
72.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% 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
22.5:1
students per teacher
— 23% above state mean
Top 88% in Florida — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
28.5%
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
$11,534
per pupil, district-wide
— below Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 343 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
232
in-school suspensions + 212 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 33.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 64.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 10 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 685 Top 59% in Florida — larger than 41% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 22.5:1 +23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 72.6% +40% vs state
NCES ID 120048000765
Student demographics
African American 75.5%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
White 9.2%
Two or More 4.1%
Asian 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 75.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 343:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 28.5%
In-school suspensions 232
Out-of-school suspensions 212
Expulsions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Duval, which includes Highlands Middle School.
$11,534
Per student
-10%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 40.9%
State 39.3%
Federal 19.8%
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
- 2,887
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,627
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,343
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,184
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,098
- Students per teacher
- 23.8:1
Similar middle schools in Jacksonville
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Mandarin Middle School
Standard public school
1,118 students 20.6:1 students per teacher
Kernan Middle School
Standard public school
1,086 students 16:1 students per teacher
James Weldon Johnson College Prepartory Middle School
Standard public school
980 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Lavilla School of the Arts
Standard public school
972 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
Charger Academy
Standard public school
961 students 25.3:1 students per teacher
Twin Lakes Academy Middle School
Standard public school
914 students 22:1 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 Highlands Middle School
How many students attend Highlands Middle School?
Highlands Middle School has 685 students enrolled. It is a middle school in JACKSONVILLE, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands Middle School is 22.5:1, which is 23% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highlands Middle School?
72.6% of students at Highlands Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Highlands Middle School is African American at 75.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in JACKSONVILLE, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Middle School?
Highlands Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F) 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.