Enrollment
550
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010063000283
Spring Garden High School — Spring Garden, AL
Federal NCES profile for Spring Garden High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 Attendance 62
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Cherokee County · Alabama
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
58.1%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Spring Garden High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Spring Garden High School reports 550 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 58.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 1% below the Alabama average and 12% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 367 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cherokee County spends $13,755 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 27.4% from local sources (property taxes), 54.8% from the state, and 17.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Spring Garden High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17:1 | ▼ 4% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 58.1% | ▼ 1% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 550 | top 63% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
58.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 1% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 39% in Alabama — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$13,755
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 367 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 550 Top 63% in Alabama — larger than 37% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 17:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 58.1% -1% vs state
NCES ID 010063000283
Student demographics
White 94.2%
Hispanic or Latino 2.4%
Two or More 2.4%
African American 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 94.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 367:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.3%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cherokee County, which includes Spring Garden High School.
$13,755
Per student
-5%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 27.4%
State 54.8%
Federal 17.8%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 783
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Enrollment
- 665
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 623
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 450
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 448
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Spring Garden High School
How many students attend Spring Garden High School?
Spring Garden High School has 550 students enrolled. It is a other school in Spring Garden, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spring Garden High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Spring Garden High School is 17:1, which is 4% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 7% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Spring Garden High School?
58.1% of students at Spring Garden High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Spring Garden High School?
The largest demographic group at Spring Garden High School is White at 94.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Spring Garden, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Spring Garden High School?
Spring Garden High School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.