Enrollment
1,567
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Copiague, NY
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School
Federal NCES profile for Walter G O'connell Copiague High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 360831000609
👥 S:T ratio 40
📚 AP courses 70
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of New York schools. It is also one of the largest schools in New York.
- #1 of 6
- public schools in Copiague · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.9:1
- large classes for New York
- 54.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School has class sizes larger than 86% of New York schools. Computed live against every New York school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Walter G O'connell Copiague High School ranks #1 of 6 public schools in Copiague, NY.
School address
District: Copiague Union Free School District · New York
NCES ID 360831000609 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
105.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.9:1
vs 11.8:1 New York avg
+26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
54.1%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Walter G O'connell Copiague High School compares with New York and U.S. medians
What stands out at Walter G O'connell Copiague High School
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School is a higher-need, large high school in Copiague, New York, enrolling 1,567 students.
Class loads run heavy: 14.9:1 is larger than about 86% of New York schools and 26% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 54.1% lands close to the New York typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in New York, bigger than 98% of state schools at 1,567 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 4,801 scored New York schools.
Against 114 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #25.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (68%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 49/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 14 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 196 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Copiague Union Free School District also operates Copiague Middle School (1,081 students) and Susan E Wiley School (611 students) alongside Walter G O'connell Copiague High 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 Walter G O'connell Copiague High School compares
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School on the metrics families compare, against New York and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.9:1 | ▲ 26% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 54.1% | ▼ 4% | 56.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,567 | top 2% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.9:1
Leaner classes than 48% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,567
Bigger than 96% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
54.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 4% below the New York average of 56.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.9:1
students per teacher
- 26% above state mean
Top 86% in New York - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
24.2%
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
$27,637
per pupil, district-wide
- above New York avg of $26,410
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors8.0 FTE
Per 196 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
106
in-school suspensions + 107 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.6 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
Hispanic or Latino 67.5%
African American 21.3%
White 8.2%
Asian 1.6%
Two or More 1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 67.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 49.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 49.2, Walter G O'connell Copiague High School is more mixed than the New York school average of 45.5.
Programs
AP courses offered 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Copiague Union Free School District, which includes Walter G O'connell Copiague High School.
$27,637
Per student
+5%
vs New York
Avg $26,410
+67%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 37.9%
State 47.9%
Federal 14.3%
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 Walter G O'connell Copiague High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copiague Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Susan E Wiley School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Deauville Gardens East Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Great Neck Road Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Deauville Gardens West Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Walter G O'connell Copiague High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,081
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 611
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
- Enrollment
- 465
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 428
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
- Enrollment
- 427
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New York, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,567 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Walter G O'connell Copiague High School's federal record.
- Compare Walter G O'connell Copiague High School against another school. Compare schools
- Copiague Union Free School District'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 Walter G O'connell Copiague High School
How many students attend Walter G O'connell Copiague High School?
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School has 1,567 students enrolled. It is a high school in Copiague, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Walter G O'connell Copiague High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Walter G O'connell Copiague High School is 14.9:1, which is 26% higher than the New York average of 11.8:1 and 5% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Walter G O'connell Copiague High School?
54.1% of students at Walter G O'connell Copiague High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Walter G O'connell Copiague High School?
The largest demographic group at Walter G O'connell Copiague High School is Hispanic or Latino at 67.5% of enrollment, in Copiague, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Walter G O'connell Copiague High School?
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Walter G O'connell Copiague High School rank among public schools in Copiague?
By Resource Investment Index, Walter G O'connell Copiague High School ranks #1 of 6 public schools in Copiague, NY. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Copiague on the city page.
Is Walter G O'connell Copiague High School a good school?
Walter G O'connell Copiague High School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of New York schools. It is also one of the largest schools in New York. 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 Copiague Union Free School District?
Besides Walter G O'connell Copiague High School, Copiague Union Free School District also operates Copiague Middle School (1,081 students), Susan E Wiley School (611 students), and Deauville Gardens East Elementary School (465 students). See the Copiague Union Free School District 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.