Enrollment
490
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 220096000732
Jena High School — Jena, LA
Federal NCES profile for Jena High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 35/100.
👥 Class size 32
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 63
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: Lasalle Parish · Louisiana
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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.1:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.4%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Jena High School compares with Louisiana 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
Jena High School reports 490 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 31.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 50% below the Louisiana average and 39% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 490 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lasalle Parish spends $13,675 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 38.4% from local sources (property taxes), 47.7% from the state, and 13.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F), 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 Jena High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.1:1 | ▼ 8% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.4% | ▼ 50% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 490 | top 58% | — | — |
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
31.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 50% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.1:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 45% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$13,675
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 490 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
50
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 490 Top 58% in Louisiana — larger than 42% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 17.1:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 31.4% -50% vs state
NCES ID 220096000732
Student demographics
White 81.4%
African American 13.9%
Two or More 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.6%
Hispanic or Latino 0.8%
Largest group: White at 81.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 490:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.7%
In-school suspensions 50
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lasalle Parish, which includes Jena High School.
$13,675
Per student
-23%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 38.4%
State 47.7%
Federal 13.9%
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
- 398
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 381
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 288
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 279
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 209
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
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 Jena High School
How many students attend Jena High School?
Jena High School has 490 students enrolled. It is a high school in Jena, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Jena High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Jena High School is 17.1:1, which is 8% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 8% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Jena High School?
31.4% of students at Jena High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Jena High School?
The largest demographic group at Jena High School is White at 81.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Jena, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Jena High School?
Jena High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F) based on 5 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.