Enrollment
378
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Palestine, AR
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High
Federal NCES profile for Palestine-Wheatley Senior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 050005100833
👥 S:T ratio 75
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 62
📋 Attendance 23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Arkansas schools.
- 58
- Resource Index · Higher
- 6.2:1
- small classes for Arkansas
- 99.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 378
- students enrolled
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High has class sizes smaller than 92% of Arkansas schools. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. · Arkansas
NCES ID 050005100833 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
61.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6.2:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-54% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.1%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+67% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palestine-Wheatley Senior High compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Palestine-Wheatley Senior High
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Palestine, Arkansas, enrolling 378 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 6.2:1, Palestine-Wheatley Senior High is leaner than roughly 92% of Arkansas schools and 54% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 99.1% of students eligible for free meals.
With 378 students, its enrollment sits close to the Arkansas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.
Among 163 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Arkansas schools statewide, it ranks #17, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 28/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 189 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. spends $9,177 per pupil, 25% below the Arkansas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district, Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist., also runs Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. (448 students).
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 Palestine-Wheatley Senior High compares
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6.2:1 | ▼ 54% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.1% | ▲ 67% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 378 | top 53% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
6.2:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
378
Bigger than 44% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 67% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
6.2:1
students per teacher
- 54% below state mean
Top 8% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
30.7%
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
$9,177
per pupil, district-wide
- below Arkansas avg of $12,251
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 189 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
23
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.1 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 83.9%
African American 12.2%
Hispanic or Latino 2.6%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 83.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 28.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 28.0, Palestine-Wheatley Senior High is less mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist., which includes Palestine-Wheatley Senior High.
$9,177
Per student
-25%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-45%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.9%
State 65.7%
Federal 14.3%
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 Palestine-Wheatley Senior High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Palestine-Wheatley Senior High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 448
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arkansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~378 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~6.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Palestine-Wheatley Senior High's federal record.
- Compare Palestine-Wheatley Senior High against another school. Compare schools
- Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist.'s spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Palestine-Wheatley Senior High
How many students attend Palestine-Wheatley Senior High?
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High has 378 students enrolled. It is a public school in Palestine, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palestine-Wheatley Senior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Palestine-Wheatley Senior High is 6.2:1, which is 54% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 61% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Palestine-Wheatley Senior High?
99.1% of students at Palestine-Wheatley Senior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palestine-Wheatley Senior High?
The largest demographic group at Palestine-Wheatley Senior High is White at 83.9% of enrollment, in Palestine, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palestine-Wheatley Senior High?
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (higher 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).
Is Palestine-Wheatley Senior High a good school?
Palestine-Wheatley Senior High earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Arkansas 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 Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist.?
Besides Palestine-Wheatley Senior High, Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. also operates Palestine-Wheatley Elem. Sch. (448 students). See the Palestine-Wheatley Sch. Dist. district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.