Enrollment
55
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 261839007796
Horizon Alternative School — Hillsdale, MI
Federal NCES profile for Horizon Alternative School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 89
📋 Attendance 41
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: Hillsdale Community Schools · Michigan
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.
Free-lunch eligible
76.7%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+41% vs state
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
Horizon Alternative School reports 55 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 76.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% above the Michigan average and 48% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 55 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hillsdale Community Schools spends $13,463 per pupil district-wide, below the Michigan average of $15,842 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.0% from local sources (property taxes), 62.0% from the state, and 16.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), 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 Horizon Alternative School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Michigan state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 76.7% | ▲ 41% | 54.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 55 | top 9% | — | — |
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
76.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
23.6%
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
$13,463
per pupil, district-wide
— below Michigan avg of $15,842
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 55 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 55 Top 9% in Michigan — larger than 91% of 3,399 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 76.7% +41% vs state
NCES ID 261839007796
Student demographics
White 87.3%
Hispanic or Latino 9.1%
Two or More 3.6%
Largest group: White at 87.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 55:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.6%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hillsdale Community Schools, which includes Horizon Alternative School.
$13,463
Per student
-15%
vs Michigan
Avg $15,842
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.0%
State 62.0%
Federal 16.1%
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
- 434
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 370
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Enrollment
- 366
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 34
- Students per teacher
- 5:1
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 Horizon Alternative School
How many students attend Horizon Alternative School?
Horizon Alternative School has 55 students enrolled. It is a high school in Hillsdale, MI.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Horizon Alternative School?
76.7% of students at Horizon Alternative School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Horizon Alternative School?
The largest demographic group at Horizon Alternative School is White at 87.3%. The school serves a student body in Hillsdale, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Horizon Alternative School?
Horizon Alternative School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) 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.