Enrollment
431
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 120045002154
Ruth Rains Middle School — Cross City, FL
Federal NCES profile for Ruth Rains Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 0
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
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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.6%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ruth Rains 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
Ruth Rains Middle School reports 431 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% 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 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 72.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% above the Florida average and 40% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 431 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 54.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Dixie spends $12,260 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 17.9% from local sources (property taxes), 57.2% from the state, and 24.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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 Ruth Rains 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 | 15.4:1 | ▼ 16% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.6% | ▲ 40% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 431 | top 32% | — | — |
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
72.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% 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
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 33% in Florida — lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
54.3%
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
$12,260
per pupil, district-wide
— below Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 431 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
71
in-school suspensions + 102 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 40.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 431 Top 32% in Florida — larger than 68% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 72.6% +40% vs state
NCES ID 120045002154
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 431:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 54.3%
In-school suspensions 71
Out-of-school suspensions 102
Expulsions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dixie, which includes Ruth Rains Middle School.
$12,260
Per student
-4%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 17.9%
State 57.2%
Federal 24.9%
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
- 791
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 563
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 517
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 121
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
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 Ruth Rains Middle School
How many students attend Ruth Rains Middle School?
Ruth Rains Middle School has 431 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in CROSS CITY, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ruth Rains Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ruth Rains Middle School is 15.4:1, which is 16% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 3% 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 Ruth Rains Middle School?
72.6% of students at Ruth Rains Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ruth Rains Middle School?
Ruth Rains Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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.