Enrollment
455
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 280366000703
South Pontotoc High School — Pontotoc, MS
Federal NCES profile for South Pontotoc High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 20/100.
👥 Class size 38
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 9
📋 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
District: Pontotoc Co School Dist · Mississippi
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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
+16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.9%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How South Pontotoc High School compares with Mississippi 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
South Pontotoc High School reports 455 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% above the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. 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: 50.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% below the Mississippi average and 2% below the national baseline. The school offers 5 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 455 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 52.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pontotoc Co School Dist spends $10,260 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.6% from local sources (property taxes), 56.1% from the state, and 24.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (F), 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 South Pontotoc High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.5:1 | ▲ 16% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.9% | ▼ 37% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 455 | top 57% | — | — |
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
50.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
— 16% above state mean
Top 84% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
52.1%
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
$10,260
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 455 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 25 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 455 Top 57% in Mississippi — larger than 43% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 15.5:1 +16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 50.9% -37% vs state
NCES ID 280366000703
Student demographics
White 82.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.0%
African American 7.5%
Two or More 0.9%
Asian 0.7%
Largest group: White at 82.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 455:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 52.1%
In-school suspensions 8
Out-of-school suspensions 25
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pontotoc Co School Dist, which includes South Pontotoc High School.
$10,260
Per student
-23%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-47%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.6%
State 56.1%
Federal 24.4%
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
- 776
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Enrollment
- 762
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Enrollment
- 488
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 379
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 308
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
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 South Pontotoc High School
How many students attend South Pontotoc High School?
South Pontotoc High School has 455 students enrolled. It is a high school in PONTOTOC, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Pontotoc High School?
The student-teacher ratio at South Pontotoc High School is 15.5:1, which is 16% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at South Pontotoc High School?
50.9% of students at South Pontotoc High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of South Pontotoc High School?
The largest demographic group at South Pontotoc High School is White at 82.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in PONTOTOC, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for South Pontotoc High School?
South Pontotoc High School has a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (F) 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.