Enrollment
176
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 530042001738
Options High School — Bellingham, WA
Federal NCES profile for Options High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 62
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 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: Bellingham School District · Washington
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)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
52.7%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+17% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Options High School compares with Washington 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
Options High School reports 176 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 47% below the Washington 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 41% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 52.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 17% above the Washington average and 2% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 176 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 64.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bellingham School District spends $23,302 per pupil district-wide, above the Washington average of $23,175 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.7% from local sources (property taxes), 59.5% from the state, and 9.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), 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 Options High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.4:1 | ▼ 47% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 52.7% | ▲ 17% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 176 | top 25% | — | — |
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
52.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 17% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
9.4:1
students per teacher
— 47% below state mean
Top 4% in Washington — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
64.2%
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
$23,302
per pupil, district-wide
— above Washington avg of $23,175
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 176 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 176 Top 25% in Washington — larger than 75% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 9.4:1 -47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 52.7% +17% vs state
NCES ID 530042001738
Student demographics
White 76.1%
Hispanic or Latino 16.6%
Two or More 3.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.5%
African American 1.2%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: White at 76.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 176:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 64.2%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 26
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bellingham School District, which includes Options High School.
$23,302
Per student
+1%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
+20%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.7%
State 59.5%
Federal 9.9%
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
- 1,273
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 1,165
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 1,116
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Enrollment
- 637
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 606
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
Similar high schools in Bellingham
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Squalicum High School
Standard public school
1,273 students 20:1 students per teacher
Bellingham High School
Standard public school
1,165 students 21:1 students per teacher
Sehome High School
Standard public school
1,116 students 21.5:1 students per teacher
Bellingham Re-Engagement Program
Alternative education program
110 students
Intergenerational High School
Standard public school
107 students 8.6:1 students per teacher
Meridian Impact Re-Engagement
Alternative education program
21 students
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 Options High School
How many students attend Options High School?
Options High School has 176 students enrolled. It is a high school in Bellingham, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Options High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Options High School is 9.4:1, which is 47% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 41% 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 Options High School?
52.7% of students at Options High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Options High School?
The largest demographic group at Options High School is White at 76.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bellingham, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Options High School?
Options High School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) based on 5 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.