Enrollment
127
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Plant City, FL
Simmons Career Center
Federal NCES profile for Simmons Career Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120087003712
👥 S:T ratio 66
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 75
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Simmons Career Center earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Florida schools.
- #1 of 14
- schools in Plant City · Resource Index
- 57
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8.5:1
- small classes for Florida
- 76.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Simmons Career Center has class sizes smaller than 95% of Florida schools. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Simmons Career Center ranks #1 of 14 schools in Plant City, FL.
School address
District: Hillsborough · Florida
NCES ID 120087003712 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-52% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
76.8%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Simmons Career Center compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at Simmons Career Center
Simmons Career Center is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Plant City, Florida, enrolling 127 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.5:1, Simmons Career Center is leaner than roughly 95% of Florida schools and 52% under the state's 17.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 76.8% of students qualify for free meals, 48% above the Florida average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 127 puts it in the smaller third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 93% of the 3,996 Florida schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 92 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #29.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (53%) and White (34%) (diversity index 60/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 127 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Its district draws 16.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 31 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 127 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 3 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Hillsborough also operates Florida Connections Academy (5,748 students) and Jule F Sumner High School (3,602 students) alongside Simmons Career Center.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Simmons Career Center compares
Simmons Career Center on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.5:1 | ▼ 52% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 76.8% | ▲ 48% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 127 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.5:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
127
Bigger than 12% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
76.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 48% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.5:1
students per teacher
- 52% below state mean
Top 5% in Florida - lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$9,835
per pupil, district-wide
- below Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 127 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 31 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 24.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 52.8%
White 33.9%
African American 10.2%
Two or More 3.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 52.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.5, Simmons Career Center is more mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hillsborough, which includes Simmons Career Center.
$9,835
Per student
-12%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 43.2%
State 40.7%
Federal 16.1%
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.
How Simmons Career Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Connections Academy | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Jule F Sumner High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Newsome High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Alonso High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Plant City High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Simmons Career Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 5,748
- Students per teacher
- 40.5:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 3,602
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 3,157
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 2,863
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 2,572
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~127 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Simmons Career Center's federal record.
- Compare Simmons Career Center against another school. Compare schools
- Hillsborough's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Simmons Career Center
How many students attend Simmons Career Center?
Simmons Career Center has 127 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Plant City, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Simmons Career Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Simmons Career Center is 8.5:1, which is 52% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 46% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Simmons Career Center?
76.8% of students at Simmons Career Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Simmons Career Center?
The largest demographic group at Simmons Career Center is Hispanic or Latino at 52.8% of enrollment, in Plant City, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Simmons Career Center?
Simmons Career Center has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Simmons Career Center rank among schools in Plant City?
By Resource Investment Index, Simmons Career Center ranks #1 of 14 schools in Plant City, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Plant City on the city page.
Is Simmons Career Center a good school?
Simmons Career Center earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Florida schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Hillsborough?
Besides Simmons Career Center, Hillsborough also operates Florida Connections Academy (5,748 students), Jule F Sumner High School (3,602 students), and Newsome High School (3,157 students). See the Hillsborough district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.