Enrollment
348
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Catawissa, PA
Southern Columbia Hs
Federal NCES profile for Southern Columbia Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 422226001627
👥 S:T ratio 48
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 Attendance 40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southern Columbia Hs earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Catawissa · Resource Index
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.9:1
- students per teacher
- 13.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Southern Columbia Hs has class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Southern Columbia Hs ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Catawissa, PA.
School address
District: Southern Columbia Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 422226001627 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.8%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-76% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southern Columbia Hs compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southern Columbia Hs
Southern Columbia Hs is a lower-poverty, mid-sized high school in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, enrolling 348 students.
At 12.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Pennsylvania median, within a few percentage points of the 13.6:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 13.8% free-meal eligibility runs 76% below the Pennsylvania average.
Enrollment of 348 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 211 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #65.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 13/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 6 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 174 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.1% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Southern Columbia Area Sd also operates Hartman El Ctr (480 students) and Southern Columbia Ms (367 students) alongside Southern Columbia Hs.
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 Southern Columbia Hs compares
Southern Columbia Hs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 5% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.8% | ▼ 76% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 348 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
348
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
13.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 76% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 42% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.1%
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
$16,372
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 174 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.7 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 93.1%
Hispanic or Latino 3.2%
Two or More 2.6%
Asian 0.9%
African American 0.3%
Largest group: White at 93.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.1, Southern Columbia Hs is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southern Columbia Area Sd, which includes Southern Columbia Hs.
$16,372
Per student
-9%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 59.0%
State 36.3%
Federal 4.7%
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 Southern Columbia Hs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartman El Ctr | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Southern Columbia Ms | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southern Columbia Hs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 480
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 367
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~348 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southern Columbia Hs's federal record.
- Compare Southern Columbia Hs against another school. Compare schools
- Southern Columbia Area Sd'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 Southern Columbia Hs
How many students attend Southern Columbia Hs?
Southern Columbia Hs has 348 students enrolled. It is a high school in Catawissa, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southern Columbia Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Southern Columbia Hs is 12.9:1, which is 5% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 18% 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 Southern Columbia Hs?
13.8% of students at Southern Columbia Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southern Columbia Hs?
The largest demographic group at Southern Columbia Hs is White at 93.1% of enrollment, in Catawissa, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southern Columbia Hs?
Southern Columbia Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Southern Columbia Hs rank among public schools in Catawissa?
By Resource Investment Index, Southern Columbia Hs ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Catawissa, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Catawissa on the city page.
Is Southern Columbia Hs a good school?
Southern Columbia Hs earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. 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 Southern Columbia Area Sd?
Besides Southern Columbia Hs, Southern Columbia Area Sd also operates Hartman El Ctr (480 students) and Southern Columbia Ms (367 students). See the Southern Columbia Area Sd 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.