Enrollment
1,290
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120168001837
Sarasota Middle School — Sarasota, FL
Federal NCES profile for Sarasota Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 66
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)
77.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.6:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.4%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-59% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sarasota 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
Sarasota Middle School reports 1,290 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 77.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% 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 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 59% below the Florida average and 59% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 323 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sarasota spends $14,758 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 77.1% from local sources (property taxes), 11.5% from the state, and 11.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), 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 Sarasota 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 | 16.6:1 | ▼ 9% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.4% | ▼ 59% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,290 | top 89% | — | — |
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
21.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 59% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.6:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 48% in Florida — lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.6%
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
$14,758
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 323 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
73
in-school suspensions + 49 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 1,290 Top 89% in Florida — larger than 11% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 77.0
Students per teacher 16.6:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.4% -59% vs state
NCES ID 120168001837
Student demographics
White 69.6%
Hispanic or Latino 16.7%
Two or More 7.6%
Asian 4.4%
African American 1.6%
Largest group: White at 69.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 323:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.6%
In-school suspensions 73
Out-of-school suspensions 49
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sarasota, which includes Sarasota Middle School.
$14,758
Per student
+16%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 77.1%
State 11.5%
Federal 11.3%
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
- 2,637
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 2,579
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,359
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar middle schools in Sarasota
4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Booker Middle School
Standard public school
811 students 16.1:1 students per teacher
Sarasota School of Arts/Sciences
Standard public school
747 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Brookside Middle School
Standard public school
724 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Mcintosh Middle School
Standard public school
693 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
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 Sarasota Middle School
How many students attend Sarasota Middle School?
Sarasota Middle School has 1,290 students enrolled. It is a middle school in SARASOTA, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sarasota Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sarasota Middle School is 16.6:1, which is 9% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 4% higher 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 Sarasota Middle School?
21.4% of students at Sarasota Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sarasota Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Sarasota Middle School is White at 69.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in SARASOTA, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sarasota Middle School?
Sarasota Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) 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.