Enrollment
1,064
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120144008943
Water Spring Middle School — Winter Garden, FL
Federal NCES profile for Water Spring Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 6
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 69
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
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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.4:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.8%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-62% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Water Spring Middle School compares with Florida 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
Water Spring Middle School reports 1,064 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 28% above the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 47% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 62% below the Florida average and 62% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1064 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 12.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Orange spends $13,040 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.2% from local sources (property taxes), 28.8% from the state, and 18.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F), 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 Water Spring Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.4:1 | ▲ 28% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.8% | ▼ 62% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,064 | top 83% | — | — |
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
19.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 62% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
23.4:1
students per teacher
— 28% above state mean
Top 90% in Florida — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
12.3%
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
$13,040
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 1064 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
72
in-school suspensions + 34 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 1,064 Top 83% in Florida — larger than 17% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 23.4:1 +28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.8% -62% vs state
NCES ID 120144008943
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 47.4%
White 40.3%
African American 4.9%
Asian 4.8%
Two or More 2.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 47.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 1064:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 12.3%
In-school suspensions 72
Out-of-school suspensions 34
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orange, which includes Water Spring Middle School.
$13,040
Per student
+2%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.2%
State 28.8%
Federal 18.0%
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
- 3,446
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 3,383
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,277
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 3,239
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,217
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
Similar middle schools in Winter Garden
3 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 Water Spring Middle School
How many students attend Water Spring Middle School?
Water Spring Middle School has 1,064 students enrolled. It is a middle school in WINTER GARDEN, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Water Spring Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Water Spring Middle School is 23.4:1, which is 28% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 47% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Water Spring Middle School?
19.8% of students at Water Spring Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Water Spring Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Water Spring Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 47.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in WINTER GARDEN, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Water Spring Middle School?
Water Spring Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) 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.