Enrollment
64
West Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Birch River, WV
Birch River Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Birch River Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 540102000828
👥 S:T ratio 68
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 87
📋 Attendance 10
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Birch River Elementary School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of West Virginia schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in West Virginia.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8:1
- small classes for West Virginia
- 64
- students enrolled
Birch River Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 97% of West Virginia schools. Computed live against every West Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Nicholas County Schools · West Virginia
NCES ID 540102000828 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8:1
vs 13.1:1 West Virginia avg
-39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Birch River Elementary School compares with West Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Birch River Elementary School
Birch River Elementary School is a small combined-grade school in Birch River, West Virginia, enrolling 64 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8:1, Birch River Elementary School is leaner than roughly 97% of West Virginia schools and 39% under the state's 13.1:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 97% of West Virginia schools, with 64 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 643 scored West Virginia schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment) (diversity index 0/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 64 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 28.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Nicholas County Schools also operates Nicholas County High School (708 students) and Summersville Middle School (509 students) alongside Birch River Elementary 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 Birch River Elementary School compares
Birch River Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against West Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs West Virginia | West Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8:1 | ▼ 39% | 13.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 64 | top 97% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8:1
Leaner classes than 95% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
64
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
8:1
students per teacher
- 39% below state mean
Top 3% in West Virginia - lower ratio than 97% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
35.9%
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
$12,734
per pupil, district-wide
- below West Virginia avg of $14,844
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 64 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.6 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 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Birch River Elementary School is less mixed than the West Virginia school average of 17.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Nicholas County Schools, which includes Birch River Elementary School.
$12,734
Per student
-14%
vs West Virginia
Avg $14,844
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.4%
State 50.3%
Federal 28.3%
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 Birch River Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas County High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Summersville Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Summersville Elementary School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Richwood High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Gauley River Elementary School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Birch River Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 708
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 509
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 331
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 299
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 295
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of West Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~64 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Birch River Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Birch River Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Nicholas County 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 Birch River Elementary School
How many students attend Birch River Elementary School?
Birch River Elementary School has 64 students enrolled. It is a public school in Birch River, WV.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Birch River Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Birch River Elementary School is 8:1, which is 39% lower than the West Virginia average of 13.1:1 and 49% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Birch River Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Birch River Elementary School is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Birch River, WV.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Birch River Elementary School?
Birch River Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Birch River Elementary School a good school?
Birch River Elementary School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of West Virginia schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in West Virginia. 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 Nicholas County Schools?
Besides Birch River Elementary School, Nicholas County Schools also operates Nicholas County High School (708 students), Summersville Middle School (509 students), and Summersville Elementary School (331 students). See the Nicholas County 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.