Enrollment
2,541
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 420357003465
Liberty Hs — Bethlehem, PA
Federal NCES profile for Liberty Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 34
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 58
📋 Attendance 4
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: Bethlehem Area Sd · Pennsylvania
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)
160.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.0%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Liberty Hs compares with Pennsylvania 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
Liberty Hs reports 2,541 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 160.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% above the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 45.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 23% below the Pennsylvania average and 13% below the national baseline. The school offers 20 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 212 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 38.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bethlehem Area Sd spends $23,760 per pupil district-wide, above the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 64.1% from local sources (property taxes), 24.8% from the state, and 11.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Liberty Hs compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 22% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.0% | ▼ 23% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,541 | top 99% | — | — |
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
45.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 23% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 90% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
38.2%
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
$23,760
per pupil, district-wide
— above Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors12.0 FTE
Per 212 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
282
in-school suspensions + 193 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 7 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,541 Top 99% in Pennsylvania — larger than 1% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 160.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 45.0% -23% vs state
NCES ID 420357003465
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 49.9%
White 34.6%
African American 10.7%
Asian 2.3%
Two or More 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 49.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 20
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 12.0
Students per counselor 212:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 38.2%
In-school suspensions 282
Out-of-school suspensions 193
Expulsions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bethlehem Area Sd, which includes Liberty Hs.
$23,760
Per student
+4%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
+22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 64.1%
State 24.8%
Federal 11.2%
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
- 1,792
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 966
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 731
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 715
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Enrollment
- 532
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
Similar high schools in Bethlehem
3 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Liberty Hs
How many students attend Liberty Hs?
Liberty Hs has 2,541 students enrolled. It is a high school in Bethlehem, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberty Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Liberty Hs is 16.5:1, which is 22% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Liberty Hs?
45.0% of students at Liberty Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberty Hs?
The largest demographic group at Liberty Hs is Hispanic or Latino at 49.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bethlehem, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberty Hs?
Liberty Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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.