Enrollment
778
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120039000577
Ponce De Leon Middle School — Coral Gables, FL
Federal NCES profile for Ponce De Leon Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 28
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 22
📋 Attendance 1
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: Miami-Dade · Florida
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
18.1:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.2%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ponce De Leon Middle School compares with Florida 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
Ponce De Leon Middle School reports 778 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 49.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 55.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 6% above the Florida average and 7% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 389 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 39.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Miami-Dade spends $13,577 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 57.2% from local sources (property taxes), 23.3% from the state, and 19.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), 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 Ponce De Leon Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.1:1 | ▼ 1% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.2% | ▲ 6% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 778 | top 67% | — | — |
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
55.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 6% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 63% in Florida — lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
39.8%
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
$13,577
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 389 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 15 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 778 Top 67% in Florida — larger than 33% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 49.0
Students per teacher 18.1:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 55.2% +6% vs state
NCES ID 120039000577
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 87.4%
African American 6.6%
White 5.1%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 389:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 39.8%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Expulsions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Miami-Dade, which includes Ponce De Leon Middle School.
$13,577
Per student
+6%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 57.2%
State 23.3%
Federal 19.5%
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
- 4,291
- Students per teacher
- 26.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,399
- Students per teacher
- 25.7:1
- Enrollment
- 3,382
- Students per teacher
- 25.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,100
- Students per teacher
- 24.2:1
- Enrollment
- 3,009
- Students per teacher
- 26:1
Similar middle schools in Coral Gables
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Ponce De Leon Middle School
How many students attend Ponce De Leon Middle School?
Ponce De Leon Middle School has 778 students enrolled. It is a middle school in CORAL GABLES, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ponce De Leon Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ponce De Leon Middle School is 18.1:1, which is 1% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 14% 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 Ponce De Leon Middle School?
55.2% of students at Ponce De Leon Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ponce De Leon Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Ponce De Leon Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 87.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in CORAL GABLES, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ponce De Leon Middle School?
Ponce De Leon Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) 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.