Enrollment
1,219
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 361902001721
Sanford H Calhoun High School — Merrick, NY
Federal NCES profile for Sanford H Calhoun High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 70/100.
👥 Class size 62
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 Attendance 52
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)
122.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.6:1
vs 11.7:1 New York avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.1%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sanford H Calhoun High School compares with New York 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
Sanford H Calhoun High School reports 1,219 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 122.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% below the New York state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 40% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 77% below the New York average and 75% below the national baseline. The school offers 29 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 174 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District spends $31,657 per pupil district-wide, above the New York average of $29,727 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 71.6% from local sources (property taxes), 25.0% from the state, and 3.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (B), calculated from 5 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 Sanford H Calhoun High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New York state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.6:1 | ▼ 18% | 11.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.1% | ▼ 77% | 56.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,219 | top 95% | — | — |
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
13.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 77% below the New York average of 56.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.6:1
students per teacher
— 18% below state mean
Top 21% in New York — lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
19.2%
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
$31,657
per pupil, district-wide
— above New York avg of $29,727
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 174 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
45
in-school suspensions + 28 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,219 Top 95% in New York — larger than 5% of 4,812 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 122.0
Students per teacher 9.6:1 -18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.1% -77% vs state
NCES ID 361902001721
Student demographics
White 71.2%
Hispanic or Latino 15.1%
Asian 7.6%
African American 3.9%
Two or More 1.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 71.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 29
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 174:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.2%
In-school suspensions 45
Out-of-school suspensions 28
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, which includes Sanford H Calhoun High School.
$31,657
Per student
+6%
vs New York
Avg $29,727
+62%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 71.6%
State 25.0%
Federal 3.5%
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
- 1,211
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Enrollment
- 1,089
- Students per teacher
- 11.2:1
- Enrollment
- 916
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Enrollment
- 848
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
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 Sanford H Calhoun High School
How many students attend Sanford H Calhoun High School?
Sanford H Calhoun High School has 1,219 students enrolled. It is a high school in MERRICK, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sanford H Calhoun High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sanford H Calhoun High School is 9.6:1, which is 18% lower than the New York average of 11.7:1 and 40% 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 Sanford H Calhoun High School?
13.1% of students at Sanford H Calhoun High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sanford H Calhoun High School?
The largest demographic group at Sanford H Calhoun High School is White at 71.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in MERRICK, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sanford H Calhoun High School?
Sanford H Calhoun High School has a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (B) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.