Enrollment
592
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Carthage, MS
Leake Central High School
Federal NCES profile for Leake Central High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 14/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 280252000487
👥 S:T ratio 32
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Leake Central High School earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 93% of Mississippi schools.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Carthage · Resource Index
- 14
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16.9:1
- large classes for Mississippi
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Leake Central High School has class sizes larger than 93% of Mississippi schools. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Leake Central High School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Carthage, MS.
School address
District: Leake Co School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280252000487 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.9:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Leake Central High School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Leake Central High School
Leake Central High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Carthage, Mississippi, enrolling 592 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.9:1 is larger than about 93% of Mississippi schools and 27% above the 13.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 592 puts it in the larger third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 100% of the 877 Mississippi schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 184 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Mississippi schools statewide, it ranks #183, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (57%) and Hispanic or Latino (23%) (diversity index 60/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 592 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 45.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 33.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Leake Co School Dist also operates Leake Central Elementary School (850 students) and Leake Central Junior High (383 students) alongside Leake Central High School.
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 Leake Central High School compares
Leake Central High School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.9:1 | ▲ 27% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 592 | top 27% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.9:1
Leaner classes than 31% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
592
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.9:1
students per teacher
- 27% above state mean
Top 93% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
45.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,530
per pupil, district-wide
- below Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 592 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
60
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.2 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
African American 56.9%
Hispanic or Latino 22.6%
White 13.7%
Two or More 3.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.5%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 56.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 60.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 60.4, Leake Central High School is more mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Leake Co School Dist, which includes Leake Central High School.
$10,530
Per student
-12%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.9%
State 47.6%
Federal 33.5%
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 Leake Central High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leake Central Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Leake Central Junior High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Leake County Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Leake County High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Leake Central High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 850
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 383
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 317
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 266
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~592 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Leake Central High School's federal record.
- Compare Leake Central High School against another school. Compare schools
- Leake Co School Dist'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 Leake Central High School
How many students attend Leake Central High School?
Leake Central High School has 592 students enrolled. It is a high school in Carthage, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Leake Central High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Leake Central High School is 16.9:1, which is 27% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 8% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Leake Central High School?
100.0% of students at Leake Central High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Leake Central High School?
The largest demographic group at Leake Central High School is African American at 56.9% of enrollment, in Carthage, MS. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.4/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Leake Central High School?
Leake Central High School has a Resource Investment Index of 14/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Leake Central High School rank among public schools in Carthage?
By Resource Investment Index, Leake Central High School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Carthage, MS. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Carthage on the city page.
Is Leake Central High School a good school?
Leake Central High School earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 93% of Mississippi 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 Leake Co School Dist?
Besides Leake Central High School, Leake Co School Dist also operates Leake Central Elementary School (850 students), Leake Central Junior High (383 students), and Leake County Elementary School (317 students). See the Leake Co School Dist 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.