Enrollment
243
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 280399001087
Mendenhall Junior High School — Mendenhall, MS
Federal NCES profile for Mendenhall Junior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 0
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: Simpson Co School Dist · Mississippi
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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.6:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.6%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mendenhall Junior High School compares with Mississippi 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
Mendenhall Junior High School reports 243 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% below the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 27% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 85.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 6% above the Mississippi average and 65% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 243 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 77.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Simpson Co School Dist spends $12,321 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 27.8% from local sources (property taxes), 46.1% from the state, and 26.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), 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 Mendenhall Junior High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.6:1 | ▼ 13% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.6% | ▲ 6% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 243 | top 16% | — | — |
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
85.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 6% 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
11.6:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 19% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
77.8%
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
$12,321
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 243 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
17
in-school suspensions + 58 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 243 Top 16% in Mississippi — larger than 84% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 11.6:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 85.6% +6% vs state
NCES ID 280399001087
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 243:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 77.8%
In-school suspensions 17
Out-of-school suspensions 58
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Simpson Co School Dist, which includes Mendenhall Junior High School.
$12,321
Per student
-8%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 27.8%
State 46.1%
Federal 26.1%
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
- 646
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 598
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 525
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Enrollment
- 388
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Enrollment
- 380
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
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 Mendenhall Junior High School
How many students attend Mendenhall Junior High School?
Mendenhall Junior High School has 243 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mendenhall, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mendenhall Junior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mendenhall Junior High School is 11.6:1, which is 13% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 27% 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 Mendenhall Junior High School?
85.6% of students at Mendenhall Junior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mendenhall Junior High School?
Mendenhall Junior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) 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.