Enrollment
529
Maine · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Waterville, ME
Waterville Senior High School
Federal NCES profile for Waterville Senior 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 231335000606
👥 S:T ratio 51
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Waterville Senior High School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 76% of Maine schools.
- #1 of 4
- public schools in Waterville · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.3:1
- large classes for Maine
- 42.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Waterville Senior High School has class sizes larger than 76% of Maine schools. Computed live against every Maine school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Waterville Senior High School ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Waterville, ME.
School address
District: Waterville Public Schools · Maine
NCES ID 231335000606 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.3:1
vs 11.1:1 Maine avg
+11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
42.4%
vs 34.0% Maine avg
+25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Waterville Senior High School compares with Maine and U.S. medians
What stands out at Waterville Senior High School
Waterville Senior High School is a large high school in Waterville, Maine, enrolling 529 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 42.4% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 529 puts it in the larger third of Maine schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 569 scored Maine schools.
Against 82 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #30.
Its student body is predominantly White (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 11 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 176 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 48.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 16.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Waterville Public Schools also operates George J Mitchell School (532 students) and Waterville Junior High School (325 students) alongside Waterville Senior 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 Waterville Senior High School compares
Waterville Senior High School on the metrics families compare, against Maine and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Maine | Maine avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.3:1 | ▲ 11% | 11.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 42.4% | ▲ 25% | 34.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 529 | top 13% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.3:1
Leaner classes than 73% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
529
Bigger than 65% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
42.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 25% above the Maine average of 34.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.3:1
students per teacher
- 11% above state mean
Top 76% in Maine - lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
48.0%
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
$18,852
per pupil, district-wide
- below Maine avg of $20,083
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 176 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 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
White 83.7%
Two or More 6.8%
Hispanic or Latino 5.5%
Asian 2.3%
African American 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 83.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.1, Waterville Senior High School is more mixed than the Maine school average of 20.6.
Programs
AP courses offered 11
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waterville Public Schools, which includes Waterville Senior High School.
$18,852
Per student
-6%
vs Maine
Avg $20,083
+14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.6%
State 55.1%
Federal 16.3%
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 Waterville Senior High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| George J Mitchell School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Waterville Junior High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Albert S Hall School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Waterville Senior High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 532
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 325
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 237
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Maine, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~529 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Waterville Senior High School's federal record.
- Compare Waterville Senior High School against another school. Compare schools
- Waterville Public Schools'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 Waterville Senior High School
How many students attend Waterville Senior High School?
Waterville Senior High School has 529 students enrolled. It is a high school in Waterville, ME.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waterville Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Waterville Senior High School is 12.3:1, which is 11% higher than the Maine average of 11.1:1 and 22% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Waterville Senior High School?
42.4% of students at Waterville Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Maine average of 34.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Waterville Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Waterville Senior High School is White at 83.7% of enrollment, in Waterville, ME.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waterville Senior High School?
Waterville Senior 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 Waterville Senior High School rank among public schools in Waterville?
By Resource Investment Index, Waterville Senior High School ranks #1 of 4 public schools in Waterville, ME. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Waterville on the city page.
Is Waterville Senior High School a good school?
Waterville Senior High School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 76% of Maine schools. 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 Waterville Public Schools?
Besides Waterville Senior High School, Waterville Public Schools also operates George J Mitchell School (532 students), Waterville Junior High School (325 students), and Albert S Hall School (237 students). See the Waterville Public Schools 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.