Enrollment
1,911
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 040852002912
Sierra Linda High School — Tolleson, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Sierra Linda High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 1
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 24
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: Tolleson Union High School District (4288) · Arizona
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)
80.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.7:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sierra Linda High School compares with Arizona 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
Sierra Linda High School reports 1,911 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 80.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 40% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 55% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 47.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 3% below the Arizona average and 9% below the national baseline. The school offers 10 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 382 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Tolleson Union High School District (4288) spends $15,934 per pupil district-wide, above the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 47.5% from local sources (property taxes), 36.2% from the state, and 16.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Sierra Linda High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 24.7:1 | ▲ 40% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.0% | ▼ 3% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,911 | top 97% | — | — |
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
47.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 3% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
24.7:1
students per teacher
— 40% above state mean
Top 94% in Arizona — lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Funding equity
$15,934
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 382 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
512
in-school suspensions + 233 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 26.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 39.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,911 Top 97% in Arizona — larger than 3% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 80.0
Students per teacher 24.7:1 +40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 47.0% -3% vs state
NCES ID 040852002912
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 81.3%
African American 10.5%
White 3.6%
Asian 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.6%
Two or More 1.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 81.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 10
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 382:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 512
Out-of-school suspensions 233
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tolleson Union High School District (4288), which includes Sierra Linda High School.
$15,934
Per student
+6%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 47.5%
State 36.2%
Federal 16.3%
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
- 2,782
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,648
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,306
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,182
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,686
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
Similar high schools in Tolleson
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Tolleson Union High School
Standard public school
2,648 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
University High School
Standard public school
416 students 22.3:1 students per teacher
West-Mec - Tolleson Union High School
Vocational / career-technical school
2 students
West-Mec - Sierra Linda High School
Vocational / career-technical school
1 students
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 Sierra Linda High School
How many students attend Sierra Linda High School?
Sierra Linda High School has 1,911 students enrolled. It is a high school in TOLLESON, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sierra Linda High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sierra Linda High School is 24.7:1, which is 40% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 55% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sierra Linda High School?
47.0% of students at Sierra Linda High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sierra Linda High School?
The largest demographic group at Sierra Linda High School is Hispanic or Latino at 81.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in TOLLESON, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sierra Linda High School?
Sierra Linda High School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.