Middle school (grades 6-8) · Waitsburg, WA

Preston Hall Middle School

Federal NCES profile for Preston Hall Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 24/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 530939002492
0/100100/10024/100
👥 S:T ratio
41
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Preston Hall Middle School earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median.

#1 of 3
public schools in Waitsburg · Resource Index
24
Resource Index · Lower
14.8:1
students per teacher
48.7%
free-lunch eligible

Preston Hall Middle School has class sizes near the Washington median. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Preston Hall Middle School ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Waitsburg, WA.

Enrollment

74

Washington · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

5.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.8:1

vs 17.6:1 Washington avg

-16% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

48.7%

vs 45.0% Washington avg

+8% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Preston Hall Middle School compares with Washington and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median
0:135:114.8:1

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Preston Hall Middle School

Preston Hall Middle School is a small middle school in Waitsburg, Washington, enrolling 74 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 14.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 48.7% lands close to the Washington typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 74 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 95% of the 2,394 Washington schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 65 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Washington schools statewide, it ranks #57, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 59.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Waitsburg School District also operates Waitsburg Elementary School (148 students) and Waitsburg High School (87 students) alongside Preston Hall 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 Preston Hall Middle School compares

Preston Hall 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 14.8:1 ▼ 16% 17.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 48.7% ▲ 8% 45.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 74 top 85% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

14.8:1
Leaner classes than 49% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
74
Bigger than 8% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
48.7%
free-lunch eligible - 8% 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
14.8:1
students per teacher - 16% below state mean
Top 31% in Washington - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
59.5%
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
$16,114
per pupil, district-wide - below Washington avg of $19,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 82.4%
Hispanic or Latino 12.2%
Two or More 4.1%
African American 1.4%

Largest group: White at 82.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 30.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 30.4, Preston Hall Middle School is less mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waitsburg School District, which includes Preston Hall Middle School.

$16,114
Per student
-17%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 16.7%
State 73.0%
Federal 10.2%

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 Preston Hall Middle School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Waitsburg Elementary School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Waitsburg High School Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Preston Hall Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Waitsburg School District · 2 sibling schools

View district profile

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Preston Hall Middle School's federal record.

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 Preston Hall Middle School

How many students attend Preston Hall Middle School?

Preston Hall Middle School has 74 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Waitsburg, WA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Preston Hall Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at Preston Hall Middle School is 14.8:1, which is 16% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 6% 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 Preston Hall Middle School?

48.7% of students at Preston Hall Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Preston Hall Middle School?

The largest demographic group at Preston Hall Middle School is White at 82.4% of enrollment, in Waitsburg, WA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Preston Hall Middle School?

Preston Hall Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Preston Hall Middle School rank among public schools in Waitsburg?

By Resource Investment Index, Preston Hall Middle School ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Waitsburg, WA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Waitsburg on the city page.

Is Preston Hall Middle School a good school?

Preston Hall Middle School earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Washington median. 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 Waitsburg School District?

Besides Preston Hall Middle School, Waitsburg School District also operates Waitsburg Elementary School (148 students) and Waitsburg High School (87 students). See the Waitsburg School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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.