Enrollment
1,013
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Center Valley, PA
Southern Lehigh Shs
Federal NCES profile for Southern Lehigh Shs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 422235002839
👥 S:T ratio 30
📚 AP courses 90
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 51
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southern Lehigh Shs earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 93% of Pennsylvania schools.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Center Valley · Resource Index
- 58
- Resource Index · Higher
- 17.5:1
- large classes for Pennsylvania
- 12.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Southern Lehigh Shs has class sizes larger than 93% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Southern Lehigh Shs ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Center Valley, PA.
School address
District: Southern Lehigh Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 422235002839 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
58.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
+29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.0%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-79% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southern Lehigh Shs compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southern Lehigh Shs
Southern Lehigh Shs is a lower-poverty, large high school in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, enrolling 1,013 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.5:1 is larger than about 93% of Pennsylvania schools and 29% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 12.0% free-meal eligibility runs 79% below the Pennsylvania average.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Pennsylvania, bigger than 91% of state schools at 1,013 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 195 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #122.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 18 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 253 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Southern Lehigh Sd also operates Southern Lehigh Intermediate Sch (702 students) and Southern Lehigh Ms (471 students) alongside Southern Lehigh Shs.
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 Lehigh Shs compares
Southern Lehigh Shs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.5:1 | ▲ 29% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.0% | ▼ 79% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,013 | top 9% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.5:1
Leaner classes than 27% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,013
Bigger than 91% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
12.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 79% 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
17.5:1
students per teacher
- 29% above state mean
Top 93% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$18,074
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 253 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 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 80.8%
Asian 7.7%
Hispanic or Latino 7.4%
African American 2.1%
Two or More 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 80.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.5, Southern Lehigh Shs is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 18
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southern Lehigh Sd, which includes Southern Lehigh Shs.
$18,074
Per student
+1%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 75.3%
State 20.8%
Federal 3.9%
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 Lehigh Shs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Lehigh Intermediate Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Southern Lehigh Ms | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Liberty Bell El Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hopewell El Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southern Lehigh Shs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 702
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 471
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 445
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 426
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
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 (~1,013 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southern Lehigh Shs's federal record.
- Compare Southern Lehigh Shs against another school. Compare schools
- Southern Lehigh 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 Lehigh Shs
How many students attend Southern Lehigh Shs?
Southern Lehigh Shs has 1,013 students enrolled. It is a high school in Center Valley, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southern Lehigh Shs?
The student-teacher ratio at Southern Lehigh Shs is 17.5:1, which is 29% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 11% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southern Lehigh Shs?
12.0% of students at Southern Lehigh Shs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southern Lehigh Shs?
The largest demographic group at Southern Lehigh Shs is White at 80.8% of enrollment, in Center Valley, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southern Lehigh Shs?
Southern Lehigh Shs has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (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 Lehigh Shs rank among public schools in Center Valley?
By Resource Investment Index, Southern Lehigh Shs ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Center Valley, 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 Center Valley on the city page.
Is Southern Lehigh Shs a good school?
Southern Lehigh Shs earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 93% of Pennsylvania 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 Southern Lehigh Sd?
Besides Southern Lehigh Shs, Southern Lehigh Sd also operates Southern Lehigh Intermediate Sch (702 students), Southern Lehigh Ms (471 students), and Liberty Bell El Sch (445 students). See the Southern Lehigh 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.