Enrollment
250
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Shelton, WA
Pioneer Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Pioneer Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 64/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 530675000992
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 84
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pioneer Middle School earns 64/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Washington schools.
- 64
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.5:1
- small classes for Washington
- 58.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 250
- students enrolled
Pioneer Middle School has class sizes smaller than 87% of Washington schools. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Pioneer School District · Washington
NCES ID 530675000992 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
58.5%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pioneer Middle School compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pioneer Middle School
Pioneer Middle School is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Shelton, Washington, enrolling 250 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 12.5:1, Pioneer Middle School is leaner than roughly 87% of Washington schools and 29% under the state's 17.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 58.5% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 250 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 2,394 Washington schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 241 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Washington schools statewide, it ranks #10, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (73%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 43/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 250 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.4% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Among Shelton's middle schools, it stands alongside Oakland Bay Junior High School (544 students): Pioneer Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.5:1 vs 16.5:1).
Pioneer School District also operates Pioneer Elementary School (482 students) and Pioneer Virtual Academy (15 students) alongside Pioneer Middle 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 Pioneer Middle School compares
Pioneer Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Washington and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 29% | 17.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 58.5% | ▲ 30% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 250 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
250
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
58.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 30% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 29% below state mean
Top 13% in Washington - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$16,907
per pupil, district-wide
- below Washington avg of $19,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 250 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 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
White 73.2%
Hispanic or Latino 17.2%
Two or More 4.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.6%
African American 1.2%
Asian 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
Largest group: White at 73.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 43.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 43.2, Pioneer Middle School is less mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pioneer School District, which includes Pioneer Middle School.
$16,907
Per student
-13%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.2%
State 51.5%
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 Pioneer Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pioneer Virtual Academy | Smaller | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Pioneer Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 482
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 15
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 64/100
Similar middle schools in Shelton
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Washington, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~250 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pioneer Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Pioneer Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Pioneer School District'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 Pioneer Middle School
How many students attend Pioneer Middle School?
Pioneer Middle School has 250 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Shelton, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pioneer Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pioneer Middle School is 12.5:1, which is 29% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 20% 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 Pioneer Middle School?
58.5% of students at Pioneer Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pioneer Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Pioneer Middle School is White at 73.2% of enrollment, in Shelton, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pioneer Middle School?
Pioneer Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 64/100 (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 Pioneer Middle School a good school?
Pioneer Middle School earns 64/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Washington 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 Pioneer School District?
Besides Pioneer Middle School, Pioneer School District also operates Pioneer Elementary School (482 students) and Pioneer Virtual Academy (15 students). See the Pioneer School District 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.