Enrollment
330
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Belfast, ME
Troy a Howard Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Troy a Howard Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 231482200048
👥 S:T ratio 59
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 27
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Troy a Howard Middle School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median.
- #1 of 4
- public schools in Belfast · Resource Index
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.3:1
- students per teacher
- 36.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Troy a Howard Middle School has class sizes near the Maine median. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Troy a Howard Middle School ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Belfast, ME.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.8%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Troy a Howard Middle School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Troy a Howard Middle School
Troy a Howard Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Belfast, Maine, enrolling 330 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Maine schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 36.8% lands close to the Maine typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 330 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 136 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #44.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment) (diversity index 15/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 330 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Rsu 71 also operates Belfast Area High School (476 students) and Captain Albert W. Stevens School (232 students) alongside Troy a Howard Middle 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 Troy a Howard Middle School compares
Troy a Howard Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 7% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.8% | ▲ 8% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 330 | top 33% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.3:1
Leaner classes than 87% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
330
Bigger than 37% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
36.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 8% above the Maine average of 34.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
- 7% below state mean
Top 36% in Maine - lower ratio than 64% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
29.4%
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
$20,461
per pupil, district-wide
- above Maine avg of $20,083
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 330 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
12
in-school suspensions + 29 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.4 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 92.1%
Two or More 5.2%
Hispanic or Latino 1.8%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 92.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 14.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 14.9, Troy a Howard Middle School is less mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rsu 71, which includes Troy a Howard Middle School.
$20,461
Per student
+2%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 54.8%
State 42.6%
Federal 2.6%
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 Troy a Howard Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast Area High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Captain Albert W. Stevens School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ames Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Belfast School | Smaller | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Gladys Weymouth Elem School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Troy a Howard Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 476
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 232
- Students per teacher
- 8.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 122
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 99
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 79
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~330 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Troy a Howard Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Troy a Howard Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Rsu 71'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 Troy a Howard Middle School
How many students attend Troy a Howard Middle School?
Troy a Howard Middle School has 330 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Belfast, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Troy a Howard Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Troy a Howard Middle School is 10.3:1, which is 7% lower than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 34% 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 Troy a Howard Middle School?
36.8% of students at Troy a Howard Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Troy a Howard Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Troy a Howard Middle School is White at 92.1% of enrollment, in Belfast, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Troy a Howard Middle School?
Troy a Howard Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical 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).
How does Troy a Howard Middle School rank among public schools in Belfast?
By Resource Investment Index, Troy a Howard Middle School ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Belfast, ME. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Belfast on the city page.
Is Troy a Howard Middle School a good school?
Troy a Howard Middle School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Maine median. 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 Rsu 71?
Besides Troy a Howard Middle School, Rsu 71 also operates Belfast Area High School (476 students), Captain Albert W. Stevens School (232 students), and Ames Elementary School (122 students). See the Rsu 71 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.