Enrollment
1,861
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 120159001766
Kathleen Senior High School — Lakeland, FL
Federal NCES profile for Kathleen Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 11
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 26
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 →
The verdict
Kathleen Senior High School earns a D Resource Investment Index (40/100), with class sizes larger than 87% of Florida schools.
- D
- Resource Index · 40/100
- 22.3:1
- large classes for Florida
- 58.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,861
- students enrolled
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)
92.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.3:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
58.8%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kathleen Senior High 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
Kathleen Senior High School reports 1,861 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 92.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% 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 40% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 58.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% above the Florida average and 14% above the national baseline. The school offers 11 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 372 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Polk spends $12,580 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.2% from local sources (property taxes), 43.8% from the state, and 21.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Kathleen Senior High 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 | 22.3:1 | ▲ 22% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 58.8% | ▲ 13% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,861 | top 95% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
22 smaller classes than 9% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
1,861 larger than 98% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
58.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% 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
22.3:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 87% in Florida — lower ratio than 13% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Funding equity
$12,580
per pupil, district-wide
— below Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 372 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
220
in-school suspensions + 440 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 35.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 23 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,861 Top 95% in Florida — larger than 5% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 92.0
Students per teacher 22.3:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 58.8% +13% vs state
NCES ID 120159001766
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 42.1%
White 31.8%
African American 22.4%
Two or More 2.4%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 42.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 11
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 372:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 220
Out-of-school suspensions 440
Expulsions 23
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Polk, which includes Kathleen Senior High School.
$12,580
Per student
-1%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.2%
State 43.8%
Federal 21.0%
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
- 3,105
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,731
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,648
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,632
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,469
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
Similar high schools in Lakeland
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
George W. Jenkins Senior High
Standard public school
2,469 students 22.5:1 students per teacher
Lakeland Senior High School
Standard public school
1,985 students 20:1 students per teacher
Lake Gibson Senior High School
Standard public school
1,973 students 22.9:1 students per teacher
Tenoroc High School
Standard public school
1,141 students 22.1:1 students per teacher
Polk State College Collegiate High School
Standard public school
343 students 117.7:1 students per teacher
Polk State Lakeland Gateway to College Charter High School
Alternative education program
296 students 36.4:1 students per teacher
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 Kathleen Senior High School
How many students attend Kathleen Senior High School?
Kathleen Senior High School has 1,861 students enrolled. It is a high school in LAKELAND, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kathleen Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Kathleen Senior High School is 22.3:1, which is 22% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 40% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kathleen Senior High School?
58.8% of students at Kathleen Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kathleen Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Kathleen Senior High School is Hispanic or Latino at 42.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in LAKELAND, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kathleen Senior High School?
Kathleen Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.