Enrollment
702
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 210405001029
Stuart Pepper Middle School — Brandenburg, KY
Federal NCES profile for Stuart Pepper Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 14
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 38
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: Meade County · Kentucky
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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.4:1
vs 15.6:1 Kentucky avg
+37% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
46.4%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
-22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Stuart Pepper Middle School compares with Kentucky 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
Stuart Pepper Middle School reports 702 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 37% above the Kentucky state mean of 15.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 35% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 46.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 22% below the Kentucky average and 10% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 351 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Meade County spends $11,983 per pupil district-wide, below the Kentucky average of $15,105 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.6% from local sources (property taxes), 60.1% from the state, and 17.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F), 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 Stuart Pepper Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kentucky state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.4:1 | ▲ 37% | 15.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 46.4% | ▼ 22% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 702 | top 84% | — | — |
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
46.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 22% below the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21.4:1
students per teacher
— 37% above state mean
Top 96% in Kentucky — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
24.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,983
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kentucky avg of $15,105
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 351 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
104
in-school suspensions + 74 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 25.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 702 Top 84% in Kentucky — larger than 16% of 1,395 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 21.4:1 +37% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 46.4% -22% vs state
NCES ID 210405001029
Student demographics
White 86.5%
Two or More 5.4%
Hispanic or Latino 5.1%
African American 2.0%
Asian 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 86.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 351:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.9%
In-school suspensions 104
Out-of-school suspensions 74
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Meade County, which includes Stuart Pepper Middle School.
$11,983
Per student
-21%
vs Kentucky
Avg $15,105
-39%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.6%
State 60.1%
Federal 17.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,512
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 807
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 529
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 403
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 365
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
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 Stuart Pepper Middle School
How many students attend Stuart Pepper Middle School?
Stuart Pepper Middle School has 702 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Brandenburg, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Stuart Pepper Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Stuart Pepper Middle School is 21.4:1, which is 37% higher than the Kentucky average of 15.6:1 and 35% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Stuart Pepper Middle School?
46.4% of students at Stuart Pepper Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Stuart Pepper Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Stuart Pepper Middle School is White at 86.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Brandenburg, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Stuart Pepper Middle School?
Stuart Pepper Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F) 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.