Enrollment
280
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 280438000825
Union High School — Union, MS
Federal NCES profile for Union High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 59
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 38
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 Public School Dist · Mississippi
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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
-23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.2%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union High School compares with Mississippi 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 High School reports 280 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% below the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 35% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 60.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 25% below the Mississippi average and 16% above the national baseline. The school offers 5 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 280 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Union Public School Dist spends $11,988 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 15.4% from local sources (property taxes), 56.4% from the state, and 28.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), 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 High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 23% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.2% | ▼ 25% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 280 | top 23% | — | — |
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
60.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 25% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
— 23% below state mean
Top 9% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 91% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
24.6%
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
$11,988
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 280 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 35 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 18.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 31.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 280 Top 23% in Mississippi — larger than 77% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 10.3:1 -23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 60.2% -25% vs state
NCES ID 280438000825
Student demographics
White 73.2%
African American 23.2%
Asian 1.1%
Two or More 1.1%
Hispanic or Latino 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 73.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 280:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.6%
In-school suspensions 53
Out-of-school suspensions 35
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union Public School Dist, which includes Union High School.
$11,988
Per student
-11%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-38%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 15.4%
State 56.4%
Federal 28.2%
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
- 410
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Enrollment
- 286
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
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 High School
How many students attend Union High School?
Union High School has 280 students enrolled. It is a high school in UNION, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Union High School is 10.3:1, which is 23% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 35% 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 High School?
60.2% of students at Union High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union High School?
The largest demographic group at Union High School is White at 73.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in UNION, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union High School?
Union High School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.