Middle school (grades 6-8) · Fort Wayne, IN

Northwood Middle School

Federal NCES profile for Northwood Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 180363000553
0/100100/10028/100
👥 S:T ratio
35
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
6
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Northwood Middle School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Indiana median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Indiana schools.

#15 of 15
middle schools in Fort Wayne · Resource Index
28
Resource Index · Lower
16.3:1
students per teacher
65.8%
free-lunch eligible

Northwood Middle School has class sizes near the Indiana median. Computed live against every Indiana school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Northwood Middle School ranks #15 of 15 middle schools in Fort Wayne, IN.

Enrollment

585

Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

36.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.3:1

vs 15.9:1 Indiana avg

+3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

65.8%

vs 49.5% Indiana avg

+33% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Northwood Middle School compares with Indiana and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Northwood Middle School

Northwood Middle School is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, enrolling 585 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 65.8% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 585 puts it in the larger third of Indiana schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 93% of the 1,862 Indiana schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 387 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Indiana schools statewide, it ranks #339, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by White (41%) and Hispanic or Latino (22%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 73/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 585 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 21.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Fort Wayne's middle schools, it stands alongside Woodside Middle School (1,032 students): Northwood Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.3:1 vs 18.8:1).

Fort Wayne Community Schools also operates Northrop High School (2,145 students) and R Nelson Snider High School (1,927 students) alongside Northwood Middle 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 Northwood Middle School compares

Northwood Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Indiana and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Indiana Indiana avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.3:1 ▲ 3% 15.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 65.8% ▲ 33% 49.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 585 top 29% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
585
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
65.8%
free-lunch eligible - 33% above the Indiana average of 49.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher - 3% above state mean
Top 62% in Indiana - lower ratio than 38% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
37.6%
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
$13,247
per pupil, district-wide - above Indiana avg of $12,079
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 585 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.1 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

White 40.9%
Hispanic or Latino 21.9%
African American 18.6%
Two or More 12.1%
Asian 6.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: White at 40.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 73.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 73.2, Northwood Middle School is more mixed than the Indiana school average of 39.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fort Wayne Community Schools, which includes Northwood Middle School.

$13,247
Per student
+10%
vs Indiana
Avg $12,079
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.4%
State 56.6%
Federal 21.1%

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.

How Northwood Middle School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Northrop High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
R Nelson Snider High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
South Side High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Wayne High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
North Side High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Northwood Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Fort Wayne Community Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Fort Wayne

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Indiana, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Northwood Middle School's federal record.

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 Northwood Middle School

How many students attend Northwood Middle School?

Northwood Middle School has 585 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Fort Wayne, IN.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Northwood Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at Northwood Middle School is 16.3:1, which is 3% higher than the Indiana average of 15.9:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Northwood Middle School?

65.8% of students at Northwood Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northwood Middle School?

The largest demographic group at Northwood Middle School is White at 40.9% of enrollment, in Fort Wayne, IN. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 73.2/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Northwood Middle School?

Northwood Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Northwood Middle School rank among middle schools in Fort Wayne?

By Resource Investment Index, Northwood Middle School ranks #15 of 15 middle schools in Fort Wayne, IN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Fort Wayne on the city page.

Is Northwood Middle School a good school?

Northwood Middle School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Indiana median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Indiana 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 Fort Wayne Community Schools?

Besides Northwood Middle School, Fort Wayne Community Schools also operates Northrop High School (2,145 students), R Nelson Snider High School (1,927 students), and South Side High School (1,405 students). See the Fort Wayne Community Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.