Enrollment
690
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 130402004074
P. B. Ritch Middle School — Dallas, GA
Federal NCES profile for P. B. Ritch Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 Attendance 37
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: Paulding County · Georgia
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)
49.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
49.0%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How P. B. Ritch Middle School compares with Georgia 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
P. B. Ritch Middle School reports 690 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 49.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% above the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 49.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the Georgia average and 5% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 345 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Paulding County spends $12,294 per pupil district-wide, below the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.7% from local sources (property taxes), 51.2% from the state, and 12.1% 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 P. B. Ritch Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.4:1 | ▲ 6% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 49.0% | ▼ 19% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 690 | top 58% | — | — |
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
49.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 70% in Georgia — lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.4%
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
$12,294
per pupil, district-wide
— below Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 345 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
188
in-school suspensions + 167 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 27.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 51.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 9 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 690 Top 58% in Georgia — larger than 42% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 49.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 49.0% -19% vs state
NCES ID 130402004074
Student demographics
African American 56.5%
White 17.4%
Hispanic or Latino 15.7%
Two or More 8.7%
Asian 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 56.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 345:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.4%
In-school suspensions 188
Out-of-school suspensions 167
Expulsions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Paulding County, which includes P. B. Ritch Middle School.
$12,294
Per student
-22%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.7%
State 51.2%
Federal 12.1%
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
- 3,015
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,099
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,985
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,881
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,460
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
Similar middle schools in Dallas
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Lena Mae Moses Middle School
Standard public school
921 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Sammy Mcclure Sr. Middle School
Standard public school
834 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Carl Scoggins Sr. Middle School
Standard public school
809 students 15.8:1 students per teacher
Herschel Jones Middle School
Standard public school
728 students 15.5:1 students per teacher
East Paulding Middle School
Standard public school
630 students 14.8:1 students per teacher
South Paulding Middle School
Standard public school
507 students 13.4:1 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 P. B. Ritch Middle School
How many students attend P. B. Ritch Middle School?
P. B. Ritch Middle School has 690 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Dallas, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at P. B. Ritch Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at P. B. Ritch Middle School is 15.4:1, which is 6% higher than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at P. B. Ritch Middle School?
49.0% of students at P. B. Ritch Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of P. B. Ritch Middle School?
The largest demographic group at P. B. Ritch Middle School is African American at 56.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Dallas, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for P. B. Ritch Middle School?
P. B. Ritch Middle 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.