Enrollment
1,097
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120150003225
Western Pines Community Middle — Royal Palm Beach, FL
Federal NCES profile for Western Pines Community Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 Attendance 50
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: Palm Beach · Florida
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)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.7:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.2%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Western Pines Community Middle 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
Western Pines Community Middle reports 1,097 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 53.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% 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 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 21% below the Florida average and 20% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 366 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palm Beach spends $14,596 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 63.0% from local sources (property taxes), 21.7% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Western Pines Community Middle 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 | 18.7:1 | ▲ 2% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.2% | ▼ 21% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,097 | top 84% | — | — |
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
41.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 21% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.7:1
students per teacher
— 2% above state mean
Top 68% in Florida — lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.9%
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
$14,596
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 366 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
78
in-school suspensions + 98 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,097 Top 84% in Florida — larger than 16% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 53.0
Students per teacher 18.7:1 +2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.2% -21% vs state
NCES ID 120150003225
Student demographics
White 41.7%
Hispanic or Latino 36.0%
African American 12.8%
Asian 4.3%
Two or More 4.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 41.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 366:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.9%
In-school suspensions 78
Out-of-school suspensions 98
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Beach, which includes Western Pines Community Middle.
$14,596
Per student
+14%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 63.0%
State 21.7%
Federal 15.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,262
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 3,122
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,881
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,819
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,809
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
Similar middle schools in Royal Palm Beach
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 Western Pines Community Middle
How many students attend Western Pines Community Middle?
Western Pines Community Middle has 1,097 students enrolled. It is a middle school in ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Western Pines Community Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Western Pines Community Middle is 18.7:1, which is 2% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Western Pines Community Middle?
41.2% of students at Western Pines Community Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Western Pines Community Middle?
The largest demographic group at Western Pines Community Middle is White at 41.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Western Pines Community Middle?
Western Pines Community Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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.