Enrollment
243
Rhode Island · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Providence, RI
Paul Cuffee Upper School
Federal NCES profile for Paul Cuffee Upper School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 440003200526Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 63
📚 AP courses 35
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Paul Cuffee Upper School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Rhode Island schools.
- #6 of 16
- high schools in Providence · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 9.3:1
- small classes for Rhode Island
- 66.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Paul Cuffee Upper School has class sizes smaller than 95% of Rhode Island schools. Computed live against every Rhode Island school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Paul Cuffee Upper School ranks #6 of 16 high schools in Providence, RI.
School address
District: Paul Cuffee Charter Sch · Rhode Island
NCES ID 440003200526 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.3:1
vs 13.8:1 Rhode Island avg
-33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
66.4%
vs 39.6% Rhode Island avg
+68% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Paul Cuffee Upper School compares with Rhode Island and U.S. medians
What stands out at Paul Cuffee Upper School
Paul Cuffee Upper School is a higher-need, mid-sized charter high school in Providence, Rhode Island, enrolling 243 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.3:1, Paul Cuffee Upper School is leaner than roughly 95% of Rhode Island schools and 33% under the state's 13.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 66.4% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 243 puts it in the smaller third of Rhode Island schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 308 scored Rhode Island schools.
Against 22 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #7.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (73%) and African American (22%) (diversity index 42/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 7 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 243 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 15.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Providence's high schools, it stands alongside Classical High School (1,116 students): Paul Cuffee Upper School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.3:1 vs 17.4:1).
Paul Cuffee Charter Sch also operates Paul Cuffee Lower School (358 students) and Paul Cuffee Middle School (189 students) alongside Paul Cuffee Upper School.
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 Paul Cuffee Upper School compares
Paul Cuffee Upper School on the metrics families compare, against Rhode Island and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Rhode Island | Rhode Island avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.3:1 | ▼ 33% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 66.4% | ▲ 68% | 39.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 243 | top 80% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.3:1
Leaner classes than 92% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
243
Bigger than 24% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
66.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 68% above the Rhode Island average of 39.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
9.3:1
students per teacher
- 33% below state mean
Top 5% in Rhode Island - lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
46.1%
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
$21,357
per pupil, district-wide
- above Rhode Island avg of $20,315
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 243 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.8 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
Hispanic or Latino 72.8%
African American 21.8%
White 2.5%
Two or More 1.6%
Asian 1.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 72.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 42.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 42.1, Paul Cuffee Upper School is less mixed than the Rhode Island school average of 47.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Paul Cuffee Charter Sch, which includes Paul Cuffee Upper School.
$21,357
Per student
+5%
vs Rhode Island
Avg $20,315
+29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 62.0%
Federal 15.7%
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 Paul Cuffee Upper School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Cuffee Lower School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Paul Cuffee Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Paul Cuffee Upper School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 358
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 189
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
Similar high schools in Providence
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Classical High School
Standard public school
1,116 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Central High School
Standard public school
1,050 students 13.3:1 students per teacher
Mount Pleasant High
Standard public school
997 students 13.1:1 students per teacher
Metropolitan Career Tech Ctr
Vocational / career-technical school
817 students 13.6:1 students per teacher
Hope High School
Standard public school
775 students 10.5:1 students per teacher
Providence Career Technical
Vocational / career-technical school
759 students 10.8:1 students per teacher
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Rhode Island, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~243 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Paul Cuffee Upper School's federal record.
- Compare Paul Cuffee Upper School against another school. Compare schools
- Paul Cuffee Charter Sch'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 Paul Cuffee Upper School
How many students attend Paul Cuffee Upper School?
Paul Cuffee Upper School has 243 students enrolled. It is a high school in Providence, RI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Paul Cuffee Upper School?
The student-teacher ratio at Paul Cuffee Upper School is 9.3:1, which is 33% lower than the Rhode Island average of 13.8:1 and 41% 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 Paul Cuffee Upper School?
66.4% of students at Paul Cuffee Upper School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Rhode Island average of 39.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Paul Cuffee Upper School?
The largest demographic group at Paul Cuffee Upper School is Hispanic or Latino at 72.8% of enrollment, in Providence, RI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Paul Cuffee Upper School?
Paul Cuffee Upper School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Paul Cuffee Upper School rank among high schools in Providence?
By Resource Investment Index, Paul Cuffee Upper School ranks #6 of 16 high schools in Providence, RI. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Providence on the city page.
Is Paul Cuffee Upper School a good school?
Paul Cuffee Upper School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Rhode Island 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 Paul Cuffee Charter Sch?
Besides Paul Cuffee Upper School, Paul Cuffee Charter Sch also operates Paul Cuffee Lower School (358 students) and Paul Cuffee Middle School (189 students). See the Paul Cuffee Charter Sch 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.