Enrollment
575
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Natrona Heights, PA
Highlands Ms
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Ms, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 421188007275
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 1
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Highlands Ms earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.3:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 575
- students enrolled
Highlands Ms has class sizes smaller than 90% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Highlands Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 421188007275 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
+72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands Ms compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Highlands Ms
Highlands Ms is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, enrolling 575 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.3:1, Highlands Ms is leaner than roughly 90% of Pennsylvania schools and 24% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 100.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 575 puts it in the larger third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 487 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #160.
Its student body is led by White (73%) and Two or More (13%) (diversity index 45/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 288 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 39.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 9 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Highlands Sd also operates Highlands Shs (665 students) and Highlands El Sch (559 students) alongside Highlands Ms.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Highlands Ms compares
Highlands Ms on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 24% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 72% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 575 | top 32% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
575
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 72% above the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 10% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
39.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,029
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 288 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 9 expulsions.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 72.5%
Two or More 12.5%
African American 9.2%
Hispanic or Latino 3.5%
Asian 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 72.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 44.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 44.9, Highlands Ms is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Highlands Sd, which includes Highlands Ms.
$17,029
Per student
-5%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.2%
State 47.4%
Federal 7.3%
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.
How Highlands Ms Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands Shs | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Highlands El Sch | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Highlands Early Childhood Center | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Highlands Ms's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 665
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 559
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 205
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~575 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Highlands Ms's federal record.
- Compare Highlands Ms against another school. Compare schools
- Highlands Sd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Highlands Ms
How many students attend Highlands Ms?
Highlands Ms has 575 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Natrona Heights, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Ms?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands Ms is 10.3:1, which is 24% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 34% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highlands Ms?
100.0% of students at Highlands Ms are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands Ms?
The largest demographic group at Highlands Ms is White at 72.5% of enrollment, in Natrona Heights, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Ms?
Highlands Ms has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Highlands Ms a good school?
Highlands Ms earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of Pennsylvania schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Highlands Sd?
Besides Highlands Ms, Highlands Sd also operates Highlands Shs (665 students), Highlands El Sch (559 students), and Highlands Early Childhood Center (205 students). See the Highlands Sd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.