Enrollment
634
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010138001508
Rainbow Middle School — Rainbow City, AL
Federal NCES profile for Rainbow Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 63
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: Etowah County · Alabama
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)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.1%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rainbow Middle School compares with Alabama 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
Rainbow Middle School reports 634 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 32.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 23% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the Alabama average and 21% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 634 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Etowah County spends $12,538 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 16.7% from local sources (property taxes), 64.9% from the state, and 18.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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 Rainbow Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.5:1 | ▲ 10% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.1% | ▼ 30% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 634 | top 74% | — | — |
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
41.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 79% in Alabama — lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$12,538
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 634 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
67
in-school suspensions + 62 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 634 Top 74% in Alabama — larger than 26% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 32.0
Students per teacher 19.5:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.1% -30% vs state
NCES ID 010138001508
Student demographics
White 79.0%
African American 8.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
Two or More 5.0%
Asian 2.5%
Largest group: White at 79.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 634:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.0%
In-school suspensions 67
Out-of-school suspensions 62
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Etowah County, which includes Rainbow Middle School.
$12,538
Per student
-14%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 16.7%
State 64.9%
Federal 18.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 825
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 745
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 610
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 585
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 546
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
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 Rainbow Middle School
How many students attend Rainbow Middle School?
Rainbow Middle School has 634 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Rainbow City, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rainbow Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Rainbow Middle School is 19.5:1, which is 10% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 23% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Rainbow Middle School?
41.1% of students at Rainbow Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rainbow Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Rainbow Middle School is White at 79.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Rainbow City, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rainbow Middle School?
Rainbow Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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.