Enrollment
550
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 530285000463
Vista Middle School — Ferndale, WA
Federal NCES profile for Vista Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 59
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: Ferndale School District · Washington
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)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.9%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
+13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Vista Middle School compares with Washington 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
Vista Middle School reports 550 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 35.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 50.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% above the Washington average and 2% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 550 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Ferndale School District spends $33,691 per pupil district-wide, above the Washington average of $23,175 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.3% from local sources (property taxes), 63.5% from the state, and 14.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), calculated from 4 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 Vista Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.9% | ▲ 13% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 550 | top 75% | — | — |
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
50.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% above the Washington average of 45.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 48% in Washington — lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$33,691
per pupil, district-wide
— above Washington avg of $23,175
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 550 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 33 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 550 Top 75% in Washington — larger than 25% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 35.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 50.9% +13% vs state
NCES ID 530285000463
Student demographics
White 50.4%
Hispanic or Latino 24.7%
Two or More 9.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 6.2%
Asian 5.8%
African American 2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.5%
Largest group: White at 50.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 550:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.4%
In-school suspensions 15
Out-of-school suspensions 33
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ferndale School District, which includes Vista Middle School.
$33,691
Per student
+45%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
+73%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 63.5%
Federal 14.2%
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
- 1,325
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 496
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 457
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 440
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 433
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
Similar middle schools in Ferndale
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Vista Middle School
How many students attend Vista Middle School?
Vista Middle School has 550 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Ferndale, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vista Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Vista Middle School is 16.3:1, which is 8% lower than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 3% higher 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 Vista Middle School?
50.9% of students at Vista Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vista Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Vista Middle School is White at 50.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Ferndale, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Vista Middle School?
Vista Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.