Enrollment
361
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 280369001162
Pontotoc Junior High School — Pontotoc, MS
Federal NCES profile for Pontotoc Junior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 2
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: Pontotoc City Schools · Mississippi
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)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
71.7%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-11% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pontotoc Junior High School compares with Mississippi 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
Pontotoc Junior High School reports 361 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 71.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 11% below the Mississippi average and 38% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 361 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 39.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pontotoc City Schools spends $11,106 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.6% from local sources (property taxes), 56.0% from the state, and 24.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (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 Pontotoc Junior High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 4% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 71.7% | ▼ 11% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 361 | top 38% | — | — |
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
71.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 11% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 42% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
39.1%
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
$11,106
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 361 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
93
in-school suspensions + 79 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 25.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 47.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 361 Top 38% in Mississippi — larger than 62% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 12.9:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 71.7% -11% vs state
NCES ID 280369001162
Student demographics
White 47.6%
African American 22.7%
Hispanic or Latino 21.9%
Two or More 7.2%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: White at 47.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 361:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 39.1%
In-school suspensions 93
Out-of-school suspensions 79
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pontotoc City Schools, which includes Pontotoc Junior High School.
$11,106
Per student
-17%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.6%
State 56.0%
Federal 24.4%
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
- 712
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 657
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Enrollment
- 354
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Enrollment
- 316
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
Similar middle schools in Pontotoc
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 Pontotoc Junior High School
How many students attend Pontotoc Junior High School?
Pontotoc Junior High School has 361 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Pontotoc, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pontotoc Junior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pontotoc Junior High School is 12.9:1, which is 4% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 19% lower 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 Pontotoc Junior High School?
71.7% of students at Pontotoc Junior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pontotoc Junior High School?
The largest demographic group at Pontotoc Junior High School is White at 47.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Pontotoc, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pontotoc Junior High School?
Pontotoc Junior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (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.