Enrollment
193
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 422406002712
Union Area Hs — New Castle, PA
Federal NCES profile for Union Area Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 50/100.
👥 Class size 57
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 30
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: Union Area Sd · Pennsylvania
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)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.5%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union Area Hs compares with Pennsylvania 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
Union Area Hs reports 193 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% below the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 32% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 50.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% below the Pennsylvania average and 3% below the national baseline. The school offers 6 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 193 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 28.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Union Area Sd spends $19,300 per pupil district-wide, below the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 34.6% from local sources (property taxes), 54.8% from the state, and 10.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-), 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 Union Area Hs compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 20% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.5% | ▼ 13% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 193 | top 8% | — | — |
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
50.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
— 20% below state mean
Top 12% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
28.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,300
per pupil, district-wide
— below Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 193 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 193 Top 8% in Pennsylvania — larger than 92% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 10.8:1 -20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 50.5% -13% vs state
NCES ID 422406002712
Student demographics
White 83.4%
African American 10.4%
Two or More 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 83.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 193:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 28.0%
In-school suspensions 13
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union Area Sd, which includes Union Area Hs.
$19,300
Per student
-15%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 34.6%
State 54.8%
Federal 10.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 320
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Enrollment
- 174
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
Similar high schools in New Castle
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
New Castle Shs
Standard public school
740 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Lawrence County Ctc
Vocational / career-technical school
418 students 12.6:1 students per teacher
Mohawk Shs
Standard public school
406 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Laurel Hs
Standard public school
313 students 11.7:1 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 Union Area Hs
How many students attend Union Area Hs?
Union Area Hs has 193 students enrolled. It is a high school in New Castle, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union Area Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Union Area Hs is 10.8:1, which is 20% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 32% lower 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 Union Area Hs?
50.5% of students at Union Area Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union Area Hs?
The largest demographic group at Union Area Hs is White at 83.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in New Castle, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union Area Hs?
Union Area Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-) 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.