Enrollment
903
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 510183000780
Bell Creek Middle — Mechanicsville, VA
Federal NCES profile for Bell Creek Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 58/100.
👥 Class size 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 72
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: Hanover County Public Schools · Virginia
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)
75.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.3%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bell Creek Middle compares with Virginia 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
Bell Creek Middle reports 903 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 75.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% below the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 21% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% below the Virginia average and 34% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 301 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hanover County Public Schools spends $13,555 per pupil district-wide, below the Virginia average of $16,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 45.1% from local sources (property taxes), 43.1% from the state, and 11.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C), 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 Bell Creek Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 11% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.3% | ▼ 43% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 903 | top 82% | — | — |
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
34.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
— 11% below state mean
Top 26% in Virginia — lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.2%
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
$13,555
per pupil, district-wide
— below Virginia avg of $16,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 301 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
89
in-school suspensions + 63 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 903 Top 82% in Virginia — larger than 18% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 75.0
Students per teacher 12.5:1 -11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.3% -43% vs state
NCES ID 510183000780
Student demographics
White 70.7%
African American 12.4%
Hispanic or Latino 7.1%
Two or More 5.8%
Asian 3.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 70.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 301:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.2%
In-school suspensions 89
Out-of-school suspensions 63
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hanover County Public Schools, which includes Bell Creek Middle.
$13,555
Per student
-16%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 45.1%
State 43.1%
Federal 11.8%
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
- 1,470
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,349
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Enrollment
- 1,294
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,245
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,199
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
Similar middle schools in Mechanicsville
2 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 Bell Creek Middle
How many students attend Bell Creek Middle?
Bell Creek Middle has 903 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mechanicsville, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bell Creek Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Bell Creek Middle is 12.5:1, which is 11% lower than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 21% lower 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 Bell Creek Middle?
34.3% of students at Bell Creek Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bell Creek Middle?
The largest demographic group at Bell Creek Middle is White at 70.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mechanicsville, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bell Creek Middle?
Bell Creek Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C) 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.