Enrollment
1,333
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120144008607
Horizon West Middle — Windermere, FL
Federal NCES profile for Horizon West Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 28/100.
👥 Class size 13
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 11
📋 Attendance 18
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
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)
62.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.7:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
23.7%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Horizon West Middle compares with Florida 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
Horizon West Middle reports 1,333 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 62.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% above the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 36% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the Florida average and 54% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 444 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Orange spends $13,040 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.2% from local sources (property taxes), 28.8% from the state, and 18.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F), 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 West Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.7:1 | ▲ 19% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.7% | ▼ 54% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,333 | top 89% | — | — |
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
23.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.7:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 85% in Florida — lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
32.9%
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
$13,040
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 444 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
113
in-school suspensions + 50 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,333 Top 89% in Florida — larger than 11% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 62.0
Students per teacher 21.7:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 23.7% -54% vs state
NCES ID 120144008607
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 55.0%
White 30.7%
Asian 6.9%
African American 4.5%
Two or More 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 55.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 444:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.9%
In-school suspensions 113
Out-of-school suspensions 50
Expulsions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orange, which includes Horizon West Middle.
$13,040
Per student
+2%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.2%
State 28.8%
Federal 18.0%
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
- 3,446
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 3,383
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,277
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 3,239
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,217
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
Similar middle schools in Windermere
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 West Middle
How many students attend Horizon West Middle?
Horizon West Middle has 1,333 students enrolled. It is a middle school in WINDERMERE, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Horizon West Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Horizon West Middle is 21.7:1, which is 19% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 36% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Horizon West Middle?
23.7% of students at Horizon West Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Horizon West Middle?
The largest demographic group at Horizon West Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 55.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in WINDERMERE, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Horizon West Middle?
Horizon West Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F) 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.