Enrollment
717
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 210204001400
Highlands Middle School — Fort Thomas, KY
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 83
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: Fort Thomas Independent · Kentucky
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)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.6:1
vs 15.6:1 Kentucky avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
7.1%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
-88% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands Middle School compares with Kentucky 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 717 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 44.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% above the Kentucky state mean of 15.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 7.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 88% below the Kentucky average and 86% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 359 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 6.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fort Thomas Independent spends $14,321 per pupil district-wide, below the Kentucky average of $15,105 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 44.9% from local sources (property taxes), 52.9% from the state, and 2.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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 Highlands Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kentucky state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.6:1 | ▲ 6% | 15.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 7.1% | ▼ 88% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 717 | top 85% | — | — |
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
7.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 88% below the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.6:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 73% in Kentucky — lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
6.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$14,321
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kentucky avg of $15,105
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 359 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
35
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.9 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 717 Top 85% in Kentucky — larger than 15% of 1,395 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 44.0
Students per teacher 16.6:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 7.1% -88% vs state
NCES ID 210204001400
Student demographics
White 89.4%
Two or More 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 3.2%
African American 2.0%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 89.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 359:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 6.8%
In-school suspensions 35
Out-of-school suspensions 41
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fort Thomas Independent, which includes Highlands Middle School.
$14,321
Per student
-5%
vs Kentucky
Avg $15,105
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 44.9%
State 52.9%
Federal 2.2%
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
- 1,019
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 565
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 444
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 425
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
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 717 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Fort Thomas, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands Middle School is 16.6:1, which is 6% higher than the Kentucky average of 15.6:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highlands Middle School?
7.1% of students at Highlands Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Highlands Middle School is White at 89.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Fort Thomas, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Middle School?
Highlands Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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.