Enrollment
665
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Natrona Heights, PA
Highlands Shs
Federal NCES profile for Highlands Shs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 421188005153
👥 S:T ratio 32
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Highlands Shs earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of Pennsylvania schools.
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.1:1
- large classes for Pennsylvania
- 90.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 665
- students enrolled
Highlands Shs has class sizes larger than 91% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Highlands Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 421188005153 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.1:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
+26% 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
What stands out at Highlands Shs
Highlands Shs is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, enrolling 665 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.1:1 is larger than about 91% of Pennsylvania schools and 26% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 90.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 665 puts it in the larger third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 471 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #227.
Its student body is led by White (77%) and Two or More (10%) (diversity index 39/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 11 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 256 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The federal civil-rights collection also records 5 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Highlands Sd also operates Highlands Ms (575 students) and Highlands El Sch (559 students) alongside Highlands Shs.
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 Shs compares
Highlands Shs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.1:1 | ▲ 26% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.3% | ▲ 55% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 665 | top 24% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.1:1
Leaner classes than 30% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
665
Bigger than 78% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
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
17.1:1
students per teacher
- 26% above state mean
Top 91% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
46.5%
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
Counselors2.6 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
- 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 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.
Student-body diversity index 39.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 39.0, Highlands Shs is about as mixed as the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 11
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Highlands Sd, which includes Highlands Shs.
$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 Shs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands Ms | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Highlands El Sch | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Highlands Early Childhood Center | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Highlands Shs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- 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 high 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 (~665 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Highlands Shs's federal record.
- Compare Highlands Shs 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 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 17.1:1, which is 26% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
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% of enrollment, in Natrona Heights, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands Shs?
Highlands Shs has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Highlands Shs a good school?
Highlands Shs earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% 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 Shs, Highlands Sd also operates Highlands Ms (575 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.