Enrollment
165
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 530771002842
The Center School — Seattle, WA
Federal NCES profile for The Center School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 30
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 67
📋 Attendance 56
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: Seattle School District No. 1 · Washington
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)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
17.6%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How The Center School compares with Washington 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
The Center School reports 165 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the Washington 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 10% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 17.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Washington average and 66% below the national baseline. The school offers 3 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 165 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Seattle School District No. 1 spends $25,927 per pupil district-wide, above the Washington average of $23,175 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 40.0% from local sources (property taxes), 50.6% from the state, and 9.3% 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 5 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 The Center School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.5:1 | ▼ 2% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 17.6% | ▼ 61% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 165 | top 24% | — | — |
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
17.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.5:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 62% in Washington — lower ratio than 38% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
17.6%
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
$25,927
per pupil, district-wide
— above Washington avg of $23,175
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 165 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 165 Top 24% in Washington — larger than 76% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 17.5:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 17.6% -61% vs state
NCES ID 530771002842
Student demographics
White 72.2%
Hispanic or Latino 12.8%
Two or More 10.5%
African American 2.3%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
Largest group: White at 72.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 165:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Seattle School District No. 1, which includes The Center School.
$25,927
Per student
+12%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
+33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 40.0%
State 50.6%
Federal 9.3%
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
- 1,770
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 1,697
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,542
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,507
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,479
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
Similar high schools in Seattle
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Ballard High School
Standard public school
1,697 students 21.2:1 students per teacher
Roosevelt High School
Standard public school
1,542 students 20.5:1 students per teacher
Garfield High School
Standard public school
1,507 students 24.1:1 students per teacher
West Seattle High School
Standard public school
1,479 students 22.2:1 students per teacher
Ingraham High School
Standard public school
1,391 students 20.7:1 students per teacher
Franklin High School
Standard public school
1,277 students 19.7:1 students per teacher
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 The Center School
How many students attend The Center School?
The Center School has 165 students enrolled. It is a high school in SEATTLE, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Center School?
The student-teacher ratio at The Center School is 17.5:1, which is 2% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 10% 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 The Center School?
17.6% of students at The Center School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of The Center School?
The largest demographic group at The Center School is White at 72.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in SEATTLE, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for The Center School?
The Center School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.