Enrollment
434
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 120060000859
James a. Shanks Middle School — Quincy, FL
Federal NCES profile for James a. Shanks Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 28/100.
👥 Class size 24
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 57
📋 Attendance 3
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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.1:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.7%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+71% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How James a. Shanks Middle School 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
James a. Shanks Middle School reports 434 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% 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 20% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 88.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 71% above the Florida average and 71% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 217 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 38.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Gadsden spends $13,737 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.5% from local sources (property taxes), 46.2% from the state, and 34.3% 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 James a. Shanks Middle School 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 | 19.1:1 | ▲ 4% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 88.7% | ▲ 71% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 434 | top 32% | — | — |
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
88.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 71% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.1:1
students per teacher
— 4% above state mean
Top 71% in Florida — lower ratio than 29% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
38.9%
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
$13,737
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 217 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
37
in-school suspensions + 189 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 52.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 434 Top 32% in Florida — larger than 68% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 19.1:1 +4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 88.7% +71% vs state
NCES ID 120060000859
Student demographics
African American 68.9%
Hispanic or Latino 26.3%
White 2.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
Two or More 1.2%
Largest group: African American at 68.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 217:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 38.9%
In-school suspensions 37
Out-of-school suspensions 189
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gadsden, which includes James a. Shanks Middle School.
$13,737
Per student
+8%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.5%
State 46.2%
Federal 34.3%
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
- 1,086
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 558
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Enrollment
- 555
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 453
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Quincy
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 James a. Shanks Middle School
How many students attend James a. Shanks Middle School?
James a. Shanks Middle School has 434 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in QUINCY, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at James a. Shanks Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at James a. Shanks Middle School is 19.1:1, which is 4% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 20% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at James a. Shanks Middle School?
88.7% of students at James a. Shanks Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of James a. Shanks Middle School?
The largest demographic group at James a. Shanks Middle School is African American at 68.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in QUINCY, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for James a. Shanks Middle School?
James a. Shanks Middle School 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.