Middle school (grades 6-8) · Iowa City, IA

Southeast Junior High School

Federal NCES profile for Southeast Junior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 191470000901
0/100100/10031/100
👥 S:T ratio
6
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Southeast Junior High School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 96% of Iowa schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Iowa.

#15 of 16
public schools in Iowa City · Resource Index
31
Resource Index · Lower
23.5:1
large classes for Iowa
42.9%
free-lunch eligible

Southeast Junior High School has class sizes larger than 96% of Iowa schools. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Southeast Junior High School ranks #15 of 16 public schools in Iowa City, IA.

Enrollment

1,269

Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

54.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

23.5:1

vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg

+59% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

42.9%

vs 36.4% Iowa avg

+18% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Southeast Junior High School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Southeast Junior High School

Southeast Junior High School is a large middle school in Iowa City, Iowa, enrolling 1,269 students.

Class loads run heavy: 23.5:1 is larger than about 96% of Iowa schools and 59% above the 14.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 42.9% of students eligible for free meals.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Iowa, bigger than 97% of state schools at 1,269 students.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 96% of the 1,322 Iowa schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 48 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Iowa schools statewide, it ranks #41, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by White (50%) and African American (22%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 66/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 635 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Iowa City Comm School District also operates Iowa City High School (1,666 students) and West Senior High School (1,514 students) alongside Southeast Junior High School.

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 Southeast Junior High School compares

Southeast Junior High School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Iowa Iowa avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 23.5:1 ▲ 59% 14.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 42.9% ▲ 18% 36.4% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,269 top 3% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

23.5:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,269
Bigger than 95% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
42.9%
free-lunch eligible - 18% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.5:1
students per teacher - 59% above state mean
Top 96% in Iowa - lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
21.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,920
per pupil, district-wide - above Iowa avg of $12,854
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 635 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 39 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

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

White 49.9%
African American 22.3%
Hispanic or Latino 19.0%
Two or More 6.4%
Asian 2.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: White at 49.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 66.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 66.1, Southeast Junior High School is more mixed than the Iowa school average of 33.8.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Iowa City Comm School District, which includes Southeast Junior High School.

$13,920
Per student
+8%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.7%
State 41.5%
Federal 12.8%

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 Southeast Junior High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Iowa City High School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
West Senior High School Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Liberty High School Similar size Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Northwest Junior High School Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
North Central Junior High School Smaller Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Southeast Junior High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Iowa City Comm School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Southeast Junior High School's federal record.

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 Southeast Junior High School

How many students attend Southeast Junior High School?

Southeast Junior High School has 1,269 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Iowa City, IA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Southeast Junior High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Southeast Junior High School is 23.5:1, which is 59% higher than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 50% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southeast Junior High School?

42.9% of students at Southeast Junior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southeast Junior High School?

The largest demographic group at Southeast Junior High School is White at 49.9% of enrollment, in Iowa City, IA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.1/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Southeast Junior High School?

Southeast Junior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Southeast Junior High School rank among public schools in Iowa City?

By Resource Investment Index, Southeast Junior High School ranks #15 of 16 public schools in Iowa City, IA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Iowa City on the city page.

Is Southeast Junior High School a good school?

Southeast Junior High School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 96% of Iowa schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Iowa. 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 Iowa City Comm School District?

Besides Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City Comm School District also operates Iowa City High School (1,666 students), West Senior High School (1,514 students), and Liberty High School (1,286 students). See the Iowa City Comm School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

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.