Enrollment
154
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 231477800297
Orono Middle School — Orono, ME
Federal NCES profile for Orono Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 63/100.
👥 Class size 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 69
📋 Attendance 58
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
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)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11:1
vs 11.3:1 Maine avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.1%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Orono Middle School compares with Maine 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
Orono Middle School reports 154 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% below the Maine state mean of 11.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 22.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the Maine average and 57% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 154 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Rsu 26 spends $27,629 per pupil district-wide, above the Maine average of $23,827 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.7% from local sources (property taxes), 38.1% from the state, and 7.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 63/100 (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 Orono Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Maine state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11:1 | ▼ 3% | 11.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.1% | ▼ 35% | 34.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 154 | top 29% | — | — |
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
22.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% below the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11:1
students per teacher
— 3% below state mean
Top 48% in Maine — lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
16.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$27,629
per pupil, district-wide
— above Maine avg of $23,827
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 154 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 154 Top 29% in Maine — larger than 71% of 570 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 11:1 -3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 22.1% -35% vs state
NCES ID 231477800297
Student demographics
White 82.5%
Two or More 7.8%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
Asian 3.9%
African American 0.6%
Largest group: White at 82.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 154:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.9%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 26, which includes Orono Middle School.
$27,629
Per student
+16%
vs Maine
Avg $23,827
+42%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.7%
State 38.1%
Federal 7.2%
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
- 337
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Enrollment
- 336
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
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 Orono Middle School
How many students attend Orono Middle School?
Orono Middle School has 154 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Orono, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Orono Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Orono Middle School is 11:1, which is 3% lower than the Maine average of 11.3:1 and 31% 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 Orono Middle School?
22.1% of students at Orono Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Orono Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Orono Middle School is White at 82.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Orono, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Orono Middle School?
Orono Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 63/100 (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.