Enrollment
698
Connecticut · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 090378000773
Joel Barlow High School — Redding, CT
Federal NCES profile for Joel Barlow High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 57/100.
👥 Class size 54
📚 AP courses 75
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 77
📋 Attendance 47
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: Regional School District 09 · Connecticut
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)
67.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 12.1:1 Connecticut avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
9.9%
vs 36.4% Connecticut avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joel Barlow High School compares with Connecticut 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
Joel Barlow High School reports 698 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 67.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the Connecticut state mean of 12.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 9.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 73% below the Connecticut average and 81% below the national baseline. The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 116 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Regional School District 09 spends $35,197 per pupil district-wide, above the Connecticut average of $28,239 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 82.4% from local sources (property taxes), 13.8% from the state, and 3.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C), 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 Joel Barlow High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Connecticut state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Connecticut | Connecticut avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 5% | 12.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 9.9% | ▼ 73% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 698 | top 84% | — | — |
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
9.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 73% below the Connecticut average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 45% in Connecticut — lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
21.2%
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
$35,197
per pupil, district-wide
— above Connecticut avg of $28,239
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 116 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 698 Top 84% in Connecticut — larger than 16% of 1,005 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 67.0
Students per teacher 11.5:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 9.9% -73% vs state
NCES ID 090378000773
Student demographics
White 77.8%
Hispanic or Latino 11.0%
Asian 5.3%
Two or More 4.0%
African American 1.9%
Largest group: White at 77.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 15
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 116:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.2%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 13
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Regional School District 09, which includes Joel Barlow High School.
$35,197
Per student
+25%
vs Connecticut
Avg $28,239
+81%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 82.4%
State 13.8%
Federal 3.8%
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.
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 Joel Barlow High School
How many students attend Joel Barlow High School?
Joel Barlow High School has 698 students enrolled. It is a high school in Redding, CT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joel Barlow High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Joel Barlow High School is 11.5:1, which is 5% lower than the Connecticut average of 12.1:1 and 28% lower 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 Joel Barlow High School?
9.9% of students at Joel Barlow High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Connecticut average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joel Barlow High School?
The largest demographic group at Joel Barlow High School is White at 77.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Redding, CT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joel Barlow High School?
Joel Barlow High School has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.