Enrollment
514
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010343002135
Liberty Park Middle School — Vestavia, AL
Federal NCES profile for Liberty Park Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 62/100.
👥 Class size 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 86
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: Vestavia Hills City · Alabama
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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
8.0%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-86% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Liberty Park Middle School compares with Alabama 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 Park Middle School reports 514 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 12% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 8.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 86% below the Alabama average and 85% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 257 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 5.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Vestavia Hills City spends $15,310 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.1% from local sources (property taxes), 42.8% from the state, and 5.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 62/100 (C+), 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 Liberty Park Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14:1 | ▼ 21% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 8.0% | ▼ 86% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 514 | top 57% | — | — |
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
8.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 86% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14:1
students per teacher
— 21% below state mean
Top 7% in Alabama — lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
5.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$15,310
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 257 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
39
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 514 Top 57% in Alabama — larger than 43% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 14:1 -21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 8.0% -86% vs state
NCES ID 010343002135
Student demographics
White 79.4%
Asian 7.2%
Two or More 5.1%
Hispanic or Latino 4.5%
African American 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 79.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 257:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 5.6%
In-school suspensions 39
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Vestavia Hills City, which includes Liberty Park Middle School.
$15,310
Per student
+6%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.1%
State 42.8%
Federal 5.1%
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
- 1,625
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,131
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 691
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 657
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
Similar middle schools in Vestavia
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Park Middle School
How many students attend Liberty Park Middle School?
Liberty Park Middle School has 514 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Vestavia, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberty Park Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Liberty Park Middle School is 14:1, which is 21% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 12% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Liberty Park Middle School?
8.0% of students at Liberty Park Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberty Park Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Liberty Park Middle School is White at 79.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Vestavia, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberty Park Middle School?
Liberty Park Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 62/100 (C+) 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.