Enrollment
827
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040068000028
Lawrence W Cross Middle School — Tucson, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Lawrence W Cross Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 24/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 6
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: Amphitheater Unified District (4406) · Arizona
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)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.4:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lawrence W Cross Middle School compares with Arizona 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
Lawrence W Cross Middle School reports 827 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 37.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Arizona average and 64% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 827 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 37.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Amphitheater Unified District (4406) spends $11,759 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.9% from local sources (property taxes), 27.9% from the state, and 17.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (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 Lawrence W Cross Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.4:1 | ▲ 15% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.9% | ▼ 61% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 827 | top 86% | — | — |
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
18.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.4:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 76% in Arizona — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
37.6%
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
$11,759
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 827 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 42 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 827 Top 86% in Arizona — larger than 14% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 37.0
Students per teacher 20.4:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.9% -61% vs state
NCES ID 040068000028
Student demographics
White 57.7%
Hispanic or Latino 31.6%
Two or More 4.8%
Asian 2.3%
African American 2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 57.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 827:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 37.6%
In-school suspensions 53
Out-of-school suspensions 42
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Amphitheater Unified District (4406), which includes Lawrence W Cross Middle School.
$11,759
Per student
-22%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.9%
State 27.9%
Federal 17.3%
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
- 1,758
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 1,539
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 996
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 770
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 561
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
Similar middle schools in Tucson
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Mansfeld Middle Magnet School
Standard public school
794 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Flowing Wells Junior High School
Standard public school
758 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Desert Sky Middle School
Standard public school
743 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Rincon Vista Middle School
Standard public school
712 students 21.2:1 students per teacher
Orange Grove Middle School
Standard public school
683 students 17.8:1 students per teacher
Challenger Middle School
Standard public school
590 students 21.1:1 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 Lawrence W Cross Middle School
How many students attend Lawrence W Cross Middle School?
Lawrence W Cross Middle School has 827 students enrolled. It is a middle school in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lawrence W Cross Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lawrence W Cross Middle School is 20.4:1, which is 15% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 28% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lawrence W Cross Middle School?
18.9% of students at Lawrence W Cross Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lawrence W Cross Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Lawrence W Cross Middle School is White at 57.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lawrence W Cross Middle School?
Lawrence W Cross Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (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.