Enrollment
526
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · York, AL
Sumter Central High School
Federal NCES profile for Sumter Central High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 010309002201
👥 S:T ratio 8
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sumter Central High School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 96% of Alabama schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Alabama schools.
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 22.9:1
- large classes for Alabama
- 91.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 526
- students enrolled
Sumter Central High School has class sizes larger than 96% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.9:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
+29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
91.7%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sumter Central High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sumter Central High School
Sumter Central High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in York, Alabama, enrolling 526 students.
Class loads run heavy: 22.9:1 is larger than about 96% of Alabama schools and 29% above the 17.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 91.7% of students qualify for free meals, 56% above the Alabama average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 526 students, its enrollment sits close to the Alabama median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 161 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #67.
Its student body is predominantly African American (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 6/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 3 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 263 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Sumter County spends $16,048 per pupil, 28% above the Alabama average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 20.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Sumter County also operates Livingston Junior High School (216 students) and York West End Junior High School (159 students) alongside Sumter Central 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 Sumter Central High School compares
Sumter Central 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 | 22.9:1 | ▲ 29% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 91.7% | ▲ 56% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 526 | top 41% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
22.9:1
Leaner classes than 8% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
526
Bigger than 65% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
91.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 56% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22.9:1
students per teacher
- 29% above state mean
Top 96% in Alabama - lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
20.7%
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
$16,048
per pupil, district-wide
- above Alabama avg of $12,491
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 263 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 86 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.3 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
African American 97.1%
Two or More 1.5%
White 0.6%
Hispanic or Latino 0.4%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 97.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.7, Sumter Central High School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sumter County, which includes Sumter Central High School.
$16,048
Per student
+28%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.4%
State 54.5%
Federal 20.2%
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 Sumter Central High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Junior High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| York West End Junior High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Kinterbish Junior High School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sumter Central High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 216
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 159
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 114
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
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 (~526 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~22.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sumter Central High School's federal record.
- Compare Sumter Central High School against another school. Compare schools
- Sumter 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 Sumter Central High School
How many students attend Sumter Central High School?
Sumter Central High School has 526 students enrolled. It is a high school in York, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sumter Central High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sumter Central High School is 22.9:1, which is 29% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 46% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sumter Central High School?
91.7% of students at Sumter Central High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sumter Central High School?
The largest demographic group at Sumter Central High School is African American at 97.1% of enrollment, in York, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sumter Central High School?
Sumter Central High School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (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 Sumter Central High School a good school?
Sumter Central High School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 96% of Alabama schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Sumter County?
Besides Sumter Central High School, Sumter County also operates Livingston Junior High School (216 students), York West End Junior High School (159 students), and Kinterbish Junior High School (114 students). See the Sumter 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.