Enrollment
225
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sanibel, FL
The Sanibel School
Federal NCES profile for The Sanibel School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120108001143
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
The Sanibel School earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Florida schools.
- 59
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.2:1
- small classes for Florida
- 12.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 225
- students enrolled
The Sanibel School has class sizes smaller than 93% of Florida schools. Computed live against every Florida school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.2:1
vs 17.8:1 Florida avg
-43% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.1%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How The Sanibel School compares with Florida and U.S. medians
What stands out at The Sanibel School
The Sanibel School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Sanibel, Florida, enrolling 225 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.2:1, The Sanibel School is leaner than roughly 93% of Florida schools and 43% under the state's 17.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 12.1% free-meal eligibility runs 77% below the Florida average.
Enrollment of 225 puts it in the smaller third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 94% of the 3,996 Florida schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 54 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #16.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 225 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 17.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Lee also operates Gateway Charter Elementary School (3,192 students) and Lehigh Senior High School (2,550 students) alongside The Sanibel 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 The Sanibel School compares
The Sanibel School on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.2:1 | ▼ 43% | 17.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.1% | ▼ 77% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 225 | top 82% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.2:1
Leaner classes than 88% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
225
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
12.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 77% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.2:1
students per teacher
- 43% below state mean
Top 7% in Florida - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.0%
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
$10,788
per pupil, district-wide
- below Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 225 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 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
White 82.7%
Hispanic or Latino 14.2%
Two or More 1.3%
African American 0.9%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 82.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.6, The Sanibel School is less mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lee, which includes The Sanibel School.
$10,788
Per student
-3%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 58.0%
State 25.0%
Federal 17.0%
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 The Sanibel School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway Charter Elementary School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lehigh Senior High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Gateway High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Ida S. Baker High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Lee County High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to The Sanibel School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,192
- Students per teacher
- 51.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 2,550
- Students per teacher
- 23.8:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 2,343
- Students per teacher
- 31.2:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 2,191
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 2,129
- Students per teacher
- 26.3:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~225 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on The Sanibel School's federal record.
- Compare The Sanibel School against another school. Compare schools
- Lee'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 The Sanibel School
How many students attend The Sanibel School?
The Sanibel School has 225 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sanibel, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Sanibel School?
The student-teacher ratio at The Sanibel School is 10.2:1, which is 43% lower than the Florida average of 17.8:1 and 35% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at The Sanibel School?
12.1% of students at The Sanibel School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of The Sanibel School?
The largest demographic group at The Sanibel School is White at 82.7% of enrollment, in Sanibel, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for The Sanibel School?
The Sanibel School has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is The Sanibel School a good school?
The Sanibel School earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Florida 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 Lee?
Besides The Sanibel School, Lee also operates Gateway Charter Elementary School (3,192 students), Lehigh Senior High School (2,550 students), and Gateway High School (2,343 students). See the Lee 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.