Enrollment
665
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 421188005153
Highlands Shs — Natrona Heights, PA
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Shs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 27
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 0
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: Highlands Sd · Pennsylvania
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)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.3:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
+36% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
90.3%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
+55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands Shs compares with Pennsylvania 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 Shs reports 665 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 39.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 36% above the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. 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: 90.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% above the Pennsylvania average and 74% above the national baseline. The school offers 11 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 256 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 46.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Highlands Sd spends $19,796 per pupil district-wide, below the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 45.2% from local sources (property taxes), 47.4% from the state, and 7.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Shs compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.3:1 | ▲ 36% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.3% | ▲ 55% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 665 | top 76% | — | — |
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
90.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% 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
18.3:1
students per teacher
— 36% above state mean
Top 96% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
46.5%
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
$19,796
per pupil, district-wide
— below Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.6 FTE
Per 256 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
36
in-school suspensions + 48 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 665 Top 76% in Pennsylvania — larger than 24% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 39.0
Students per teacher 18.3:1 +36% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 90.3% +55% vs state
NCES ID 421188005153
Student demographics
White 76.8%
Two or More 10.4%
African American 9.0%
Hispanic or Latino 2.9%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 76.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 11
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.6
Students per counselor 256:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 46.5%
In-school suspensions 36
Out-of-school suspensions 48
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Highlands Sd, which includes Highlands Shs.
$19,796
Per student
-13%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Enrollment
- 559
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 205
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
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 Shs
How many students attend Highlands Shs?
Highlands Shs has 665 students enrolled. It is a high school in Natrona Heights, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands Shs?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands Shs is 18.3:1, which is 36% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highlands Shs?
90.3% of students at Highlands Shs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands Shs?
The largest demographic group at Highlands Shs is White at 76.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Natrona Heights, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Shs?
Highlands Shs has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.