Enrollment
825
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Southside, AL
Southside High School
Federal NCES profile for Southside High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 010138000506
👥 S:T ratio 22
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 28
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southside High School earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of Alabama schools.
- 26
- Resource Index · Lower
- 19.6:1
- large classes for Alabama
- 36.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 825
- students enrolled
Southside High School has class sizes larger than 79% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Etowah County · Alabama
NCES ID 010138000506 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.6:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
+11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.0%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southside High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Southside High School
Southside High School is a large high school in Southside, Alabama, enrolling 825 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 19.6:1 puts it in the larger third of Alabama schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 36.0% free-meal eligibility runs 39% below the Alabama average.
Enrollment of 825 puts it in the larger third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 97% of the 1,365 Alabama schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 223 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Alabama schools statewide, it ranks #220, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 10 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 825 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 18.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 11 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Etowah County also operates John S Jones Elementary School (745 students) and Rainbow Middle School (634 students) alongside Southside 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 Southside High School compares
Southside High School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.6:1 | ▲ 11% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.0% | ▼ 39% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 825 | top 13% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.6:1
Leaner classes than 17% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
825
Bigger than 86% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
36.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 39% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
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
19.6:1
students per teacher
- 11% above state mean
Top 79% in Alabama - lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.0%
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
$10,738
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 825 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
57
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 11 expulsions.
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 83.6%
African American 5.6%
Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
Two or More 3.0%
Asian 2.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 83.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.4, Southside High School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
AP courses offered 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Etowah County, which includes Southside High School.
$10,738
Per student
-14%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 16.7%
State 64.9%
Federal 18.3%
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 Southside High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| John S Jones Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Rainbow Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hokes Bluff Elementary School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Southside Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sardis High School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Southside High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 745
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 634
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 610
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 585
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 546
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Resource Index
- 14/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~825 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southside High School's federal record.
- Compare Southside High School against another school. Compare schools
- Etowah County'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 Southside High School
How many students attend Southside High School?
Southside High School has 825 students enrolled. It is a high school in Southside, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southside High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Southside High School is 19.6:1, which is 11% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 25% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southside High School?
36.0% of students at Southside High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southside High School?
The largest demographic group at Southside High School is White at 83.6% of enrollment, in Southside, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southside High School?
Southside High School has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (lower 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).
Is Southside High School a good school?
Southside High School earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of Alabama 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 Etowah County?
Besides Southside High School, Etowah County also operates John S Jones Elementary School (745 students), Rainbow Middle School (634 students), and Hokes Bluff Elementary School (610 students). See the Etowah County 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.