Enrollment
816
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 020051000237
Wasilla High School — Wasilla, AK
Federal NCES profile for Wasilla High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 26
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 0
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: Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District · Alaska
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)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.4:1
vs 20:1 Alaska avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.5%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wasilla High School compares with Alaska 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
Wasilla High School reports 816 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 46.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alaska state mean of 20:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 29.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 52% below the Alaska average and 43% below the national baseline. The school offers 11 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 272 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 60.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District spends $18,753 per pupil district-wide, below the Alaska average of $36,093 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.6% from local sources (property taxes), 62.7% from the state, and 14.7% 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 Wasilla High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alaska state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.4:1 | ▼ 8% | 20:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.5% | ▼ 52% | 61.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 816 | top 96% | — | — |
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
29.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 52% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.4:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 78% in Alaska — lower ratio than 22% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
60.5%
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
$18,753
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alaska avg of $36,093
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 272 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 69 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 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 816 Top 96% in Alaska — larger than 4% of 496 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 46.0
Students per teacher 18.4:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 29.5% -52% vs state
NCES ID 020051000237
Student demographics
White 64.3%
Two or More 14.7%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 7.7%
Asian 1.3%
African American 1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.0%
Largest group: White at 64.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 11
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 272:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 60.5%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 69
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which includes Wasilla High School.
$18,753
Per student
-48%
vs Alaska
Avg $36,093
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.6%
State 62.7%
Federal 14.7%
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
- 2,780
- Students per teacher
- 98:1
- Enrollment
- 1,046
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 705
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Enrollment
- 643
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
Similar high schools in Wasilla
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Wasilla High School
How many students attend Wasilla High School?
Wasilla High School has 816 students enrolled. It is a high school in Wasilla, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wasilla High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wasilla High School is 18.4:1, which is 8% lower than the Alaska average of 20:1 and 16% 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 Wasilla High School?
29.5% of students at Wasilla High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wasilla High School?
The largest demographic group at Wasilla High School is White at 64.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Wasilla, AK.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wasilla High School?
Wasilla 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.