Enrollment
258
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Brilliant, AL
Brilliant School
Federal NCES profile for Brilliant School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010231000861
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 7
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Brilliant School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Alabama schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Alabama schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.1:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 75.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 258
- students enrolled
Brilliant School has class sizes smaller than 70% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Marion County · Alabama
NCES ID 010231000861 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.1:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
75.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Brilliant School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Brilliant School
Brilliant School is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Brilliant, Alabama, enrolling 258 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 16.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 75.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 258 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 197 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #124.
Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 12/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 258 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 77 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 258 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 7 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Marion County also operates Hamilton Elementary School (638 students) and Hamilton Middle School (463 students) alongside Brilliant 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 Brilliant School compares
Brilliant School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.1:1 | ▼ 9% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 75.3% | ▲ 28% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 258 | top 86% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.1:1
Leaner classes than 37% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
258
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
75.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 28% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.1:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 30% in Alabama - lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
37.2%
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
$11,121
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
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 258 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
65
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 25.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 29.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 7 expulsions.
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 93.8%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
African American 1.2%
Asian 1.2%
Two or More 0.8%
Largest group: White at 93.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 11.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 11.9, Brilliant School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Marion County, which includes Brilliant School.
$11,121
Per student
-11%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.2%
State 59.0%
Federal 19.8%
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.
How Brilliant School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hamilton Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hamilton High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Guin Elementary School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hackleburg High School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Brilliant School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 638
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 463
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 449
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 308
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 265
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~258 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Brilliant School's federal record.
- Compare Brilliant School against another school. Compare schools
- Marion County'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 Brilliant School
How many students attend Brilliant School?
Brilliant School has 258 students enrolled. It is a public school in Brilliant, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Brilliant School?
The student-teacher ratio at Brilliant School is 16.1:1, which is 9% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Brilliant School?
75.3% of students at Brilliant School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Brilliant School?
The largest demographic group at Brilliant School is White at 93.8% of enrollment, in Brilliant, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Brilliant School?
Brilliant School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical 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 Brilliant School a good school?
Brilliant School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Alabama schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Alabama 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 Marion County?
Besides Brilliant School, Marion County also operates Hamilton Elementary School (638 students), Hamilton Middle School (463 students), and Hamilton High School (449 students). See the Marion County 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.