Enrollment
313
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · New Castle, PA
Laurel Hs
Federal NCES profile for Laurel Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 421338002680
👥 S:T ratio 55
📚 AP courses 20
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 67
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Laurel Hs earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania schools.
- #1 of 5
- high schools in New Castle · Resource Index
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.2:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 21.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Laurel Hs has class sizes smaller than 82% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Laurel Hs ranks #1 of 5 high schools in New Castle, PA.
School address
District: Laurel Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 421338002680 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.2:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.0%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-64% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Laurel Hs compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Laurel Hs
Laurel Hs is a mid-sized high school in New Castle, Pennsylvania, enrolling 313 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 21.0% free-meal eligibility runs 64% below the Pennsylvania average.
Enrollment of 313 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 251 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #64.
Its student body is predominantly White (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 4 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 313 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
13.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among New Castle's high schools, it stands alongside New Castle Shs (740 students): Laurel Hs is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.2:1 vs 15.1:1).
Laurel Sd also operates Laurel El Sch (503 students) and Laurel Ms (160 students) alongside Laurel Hs.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Laurel Hs compares
Laurel Hs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.2:1 | ▼ 18% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.0% | ▼ 64% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 313 | top 75% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.2:1
Leaner classes than 82% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
313
Bigger than 34% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
21.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 64% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.2:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 18% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
13.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$17,461
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 313 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 95.8%
Two or More 1.9%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
African American 0.3%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 95.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.2, Laurel Hs is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 4
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Laurel Sd, which includes Laurel Hs.
$17,461
Per student
-3%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 31.7%
State 59.6%
Federal 8.7%
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.
How Laurel Hs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel El Sch | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Laurel Ms | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Laurel Hs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 503
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 160
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar high schools in New Castle
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
New Castle Shs
Standard public school
740 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Lawrence County Ctc
Vocational / career-technical school
418 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Mohawk Shs
Standard public school
406 students 13.5:1 students per teacher
Union Area Hs
Standard public school
193 students 10.7:1 students per teacher
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~313 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Laurel Hs's federal record.
- Compare Laurel Hs against another school. Compare schools
- Laurel Sd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Laurel Hs
How many students attend Laurel Hs?
Laurel Hs has 313 students enrolled. It is a high school in New Castle, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Laurel Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Laurel Hs is 11.2:1, which is 18% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 29% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Laurel Hs?
21.0% of students at Laurel Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Laurel Hs?
The largest demographic group at Laurel Hs is White at 95.8% of enrollment, in New Castle, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Laurel Hs?
Laurel Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Laurel Hs rank among high schools in New Castle?
By Resource Investment Index, Laurel Hs ranks #1 of 5 high schools in New Castle, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in New Castle on the city page.
Is Laurel Hs a good school?
Laurel Hs earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Laurel Sd?
Besides Laurel Hs, Laurel Sd also operates Laurel El Sch (503 students) and Laurel Ms (160 students). See the Laurel Sd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.