Enrollment
330
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010039001823
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School — Birmingham, AL
Federal NCES profile for Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 30
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: Birmingham City · Alabama
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
89.2%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School compares with Alabama 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
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School reports 330 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alabama 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 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 89.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 52% above the Alabama average and 72% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 330 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 27.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Birmingham City spends $15,867 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 33.0% from local sources (property taxes), 43.8% from the state, and 23.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.4:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 89.2% | ▲ 52% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 330 | 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
89.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 52% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.4:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 29% in Alabama — lower ratio than 71% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
27.9%
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
$15,867
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 330 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 330 Top 23% in Alabama — larger than 77% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 16.4:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 89.2% +52% vs state
NCES ID 010039001823
Student demographics
African American 81.8%
Hispanic or Latino 15.2%
White 1.5%
Two or More 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: African American at 81.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 330:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 27.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Birmingham City, which includes Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School.
$15,867
Per student
+9%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 33.0%
State 43.8%
Federal 23.2%
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
- 1,094
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 942
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Enrollment
- 827
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 779
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 762
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
Similar middle schools in Birmingham
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Oak Mountain Middle School
Standard public school
1,168 students 21:1 students per teacher
Jones Valley Middle School
Standard public school
465 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
Wilkerson Middle School
Standard public school
424 students 22.9:1 students per teacher
I3 Academy Phase 2
Standard public school
400 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Huffman Middle School
Standard public school
384 students 21:1 students per teacher
Bush Hills Steam Academy
Standard public school
370 students 19.7:1 students per teacher
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 Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School
How many students attend Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School?
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School has 330 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Birmingham, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School is 16.4:1, which is 8% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% higher 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 Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School?
89.2% of students at Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School is African American at 81.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Birmingham, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School?
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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.