Enrollment
277
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 220009000042
Lowery Middle School — Donaldsonville, LA
Federal NCES profile for Lowery Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 67
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 29
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: Ascension Parish · Louisiana
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
8.2:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-56% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
82.0%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lowery Middle School compares with Louisiana 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
Lowery Middle School reports 277 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 8.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 56% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 48% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 82.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 31% above the Louisiana average and 58% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 277 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 28.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Ascension Parish spends $15,936 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.9% from local sources (property taxes), 32.2% from the state, and 13.9% 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 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 Lowery Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.2:1 | ▼ 56% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 82.0% | ▲ 31% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 277 | top 23% | — | — |
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
82.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 31% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.2:1
students per teacher
— 56% below state mean
Top 1% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
28.5%
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
$15,936
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 277 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
51
in-school suspensions + 69 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 18.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 43.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 277 Top 23% in Louisiana — larger than 77% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 8.2:1 -56% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 82.0% +31% vs state
NCES ID 220009000042
Student demographics
African American 96.0%
Hispanic or Latino 2.9%
White 0.7%
Two or More 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 96.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 277:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 28.5%
In-school suspensions 51
Out-of-school suspensions 69
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ascension Parish, which includes Lowery Middle School.
$15,936
Per student
-11%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.9%
State 32.2%
Federal 13.9%
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
- 2,029
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 1,894
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,847
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,096
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Enrollment
- 865
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
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 Lowery Middle School
How many students attend Lowery Middle School?
Lowery Middle School has 277 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Donaldsonville, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lowery Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lowery Middle School is 8.2:1, which is 56% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 48% 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 Lowery Middle School?
82.0% of students at Lowery Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lowery Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Lowery Middle School is African American at 96.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Donaldsonville, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lowery Middle School?
Lowery Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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.