Enrollment
245
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Sterling Heights, MI
Ucs Alternative Learning Center
Federal NCES profile for Ucs Alternative Learning Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 263447008727
👥 S:T ratio 0
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 54
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ucs Alternative Learning Center earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of Michigan schools.
- 29
- Resource Index · Lower
- 27.2:1
- large classes for Michigan
- 63.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 245
- students enrolled
Ucs Alternative Learning Center has class sizes larger than 95% of Michigan schools. Computed live against every Michigan school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Utica Community Schools · Michigan
NCES ID 263447008727 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
27.2:1
vs 17.5:1 Michigan avg
+55% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.8%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
+17% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ucs Alternative Learning Center compares with Michigan and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ucs Alternative Learning Center
Ucs Alternative Learning Center is a higher-need, mid-sized high school in Sterling Heights, Michigan, enrolling 245 students.
Class loads run heavy: 27.2:1 is larger than about 95% of Michigan schools and 55% above the 17.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 63.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 245 puts it in the smaller third of Michigan schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 3,375 scored Michigan schools.
Against 435 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #86.
Its student body is led by White (70%) and African American (14%) (diversity index 48/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 245 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 6 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Utica Community Schools also operates Adlai Stevenson High School (1,881 students) and Henry Ford Ii High School (1,663 students) alongside Ucs Alternative Learning Center.
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 Ucs Alternative Learning Center compares
Ucs Alternative Learning Center on the metrics families compare, against Michigan and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 27.2:1 | ▲ 55% | 17.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.8% | ▲ 17% | 54.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 245 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
27.2:1
Leaner classes than 3% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
245
Bigger than 25% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
63.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 17% above the Michigan average of 54.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
27.2:1
students per teacher
- 55% above state mean
Top 95% in Michigan - lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,513
per pupil, district-wide
- below Michigan avg of $13,507
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 245 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 21 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.
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 70.2%
African American 14.3%
Hispanic or Latino 7.3%
Two or More 6.1%
Asian 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 70.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 47.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 47.7, Ucs Alternative Learning Center is more mixed than the Michigan school average of 36.2.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Utica Community Schools, which includes Ucs Alternative Learning Center.
$12,513
Per student
-7%
vs Michigan
Avg $13,507
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.1%
State 63.4%
Federal 9.5%
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 Ucs Alternative Learning Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adlai Stevenson High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Henry Ford Ii High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Eisenhower High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Utica High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Malow Junior High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ucs Alternative Learning Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,881
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 1,663
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 1,625
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 1,391
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 1,084
- Students per teacher
- 23.6:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Michigan, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~245 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ucs Alternative Learning Center's federal record.
- Compare Ucs Alternative Learning Center against another school. Compare schools
- Utica Community Schools'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 Ucs Alternative Learning Center
How many students attend Ucs Alternative Learning Center?
Ucs Alternative Learning Center has 245 students enrolled. It is a high school in Sterling Heights, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ucs Alternative Learning Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Ucs Alternative Learning Center is 27.2:1, which is 55% higher than the Michigan average of 17.5:1 and 73% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ucs Alternative Learning Center?
63.8% of students at Ucs Alternative Learning Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ucs Alternative Learning Center?
The largest demographic group at Ucs Alternative Learning Center is White at 70.2% of enrollment, in Sterling Heights, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ucs Alternative Learning Center?
Ucs Alternative Learning Center has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Ucs Alternative Learning Center a good school?
Ucs Alternative Learning Center earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of Michigan 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 Utica Community Schools?
Besides Ucs Alternative Learning Center, Utica Community Schools also operates Adlai Stevenson High School (1,881 students), Henry Ford Ii High School (1,663 students), and Eisenhower High School (1,625 students). See the Utica Community Schools 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.