Enrollment
128
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cherokee, KS
Southeast Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Southeast Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 64/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 200471000185
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 83
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southeast Middle School earns 64/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Kansas schools.
- 64
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.6:1
- small classes for Kansas
- 65.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 128
- students enrolled
Southeast Middle School has class sizes smaller than 74% of Kansas schools. Computed live against every Kansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.6:1
vs 13.8:1 Kansas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.3%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southeast Middle School compares with Kansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southeast Middle School
Southeast Middle School is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Cherokee, Kansas, enrolling 128 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 65.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 128 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 1,346 Kansas schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 59 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Kansas schools statewide, it ranks #2, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 256 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance holds up well here: only 7.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Cherokee also operates Southeast High (152 students) and Southeast Elementary School (149 students) alongside Southeast Middle 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 Middle School compares
Southeast Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.6:1 | ▼ 16% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.3% | ▲ 53% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 128 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.6:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
128
Bigger than 13% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
65.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 53% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.6:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 26% in Kansas - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
7.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$17,279
per pupil, district-wide
- above Kansas avg of $15,487
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.4 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 87.5%
Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.1%
Two or More 3.1%
African American 1.6%
Largest group: White at 87.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.0, Southeast Middle School is less mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cherokee, which includes Southeast Middle School.
$17,279
Per student
+12%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.4%
State 72.8%
Federal 7.8%
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 Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Southeast Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southeast Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 152
- Students per teacher
- 8.9:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
- Enrollment
- 149
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~128 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southeast Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Southeast Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Cherokee'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 Southeast Middle School
How many students attend Southeast Middle School?
Southeast Middle School has 128 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cherokee, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southeast Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Southeast Middle School is 11.6:1, which is 16% lower than the Kansas average of 13.8:1 and 26% 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 Southeast Middle School?
65.3% of students at Southeast Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southeast Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Southeast Middle School is White at 87.5% of enrollment, in Cherokee, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southeast Middle School?
Southeast Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 64/100 (higher 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).
Is Southeast Middle School a good school?
Southeast Middle School earns 64/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Kansas 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 Cherokee?
Besides Southeast Middle School, Cherokee also operates Southeast High (152 students) and Southeast Elementary School (149 students). See the Cherokee 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.