Enrollment
348
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 220156001213
Sunset Middle School — Sunset, LA
Federal NCES profile for Sunset Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 4
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 54
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: St. Landry Parish · Louisiana
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.9:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
+28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
74.4%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sunset Middle School compares with Louisiana 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
Sunset Middle School reports 348 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 28% above the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 50% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 74.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% above the Louisiana average and 44% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. Landry Parish spends $14,633 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.6% from local sources (property taxes), 44.1% from the state, and 27.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Sunset Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.9:1 | ▲ 28% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 74.4% | ▲ 19% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 348 | top 35% | — | — |
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
74.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.9:1
students per teacher
— 28% above state mean
Top 94% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.4%
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
$14,633
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 46 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 348 Top 35% in Louisiana — larger than 65% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 23.9:1 +28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 74.4% +19% vs state
NCES ID 220156001213
Student demographics
African American 51.7%
White 30.2%
Hispanic or Latino 14.7%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 51.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.4%
In-school suspensions 13
Out-of-school suspensions 46
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Landry Parish, which includes Sunset Middle School.
$14,633
Per student
-18%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.6%
State 44.1%
Federal 27.3%
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
- 767
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Enrollment
- 698
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 616
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 606
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
Similar elementary schools in Sunset
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Sunset Middle School
How many students attend Sunset Middle School?
Sunset Middle School has 348 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Sunset, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunset Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sunset Middle School is 23.9:1, which is 28% higher than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 50% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sunset Middle School?
74.4% of students at Sunset Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sunset Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Sunset Middle School is African American at 51.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sunset, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sunset Middle School?
Sunset Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.