Other / mixed grade configuration · Winston Salem, NC

Brunson Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Brunson Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370150000590
0/100100/10037/100
👥 S:T ratio
49
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
29
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Brunson Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools.

#10 of 22
schools in Winston Salem · Resource Index
37
Resource Index · Typical
12.7:1
small classes for North Carolina
99.3%
free-lunch eligible

Brunson Elementary has class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Brunson Elementary ranks #10 of 22 schools in Winston Salem, NC.

Enrollment

355

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

28.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.7:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

-20% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

99.3%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

+50% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Brunson Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Brunson Elementary

Brunson Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Winston Salem, North Carolina, enrolling 355 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 99.3% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 355 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.

Against 445 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #249.

Its student body is led by African American (41%) and White (30%) (diversity index 69/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 355 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 22.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Winston Salem's public schools, it stands alongside Speas Elementary (793 students): Brunson Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.7:1 vs 15.9:1).

Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools also operates West Forsyth High (2,145 students) and Ronald W Reagan High School (2,122 students) alongside Brunson Elementary.

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 Brunson Elementary compares

Brunson Elementary on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs North Carolina North Carolina avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.7:1 ▼ 20% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 99.3% ▲ 50% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 355 top 70% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.7:1
Leaner classes than 69% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
355
Bigger than 40% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
99.3%
free-lunch eligible - 50% above the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.7:1
students per teacher - 20% below state mean
Top 19% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
46.5%
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
$13,036
per pupil, district-wide - above North Carolina avg of $12,017
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 355 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 39 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.0 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

African American 41.4%
White 30.1%
Hispanic or Latino 20.0%
Two or More 6.2%
Asian 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: African American at 41.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 69.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 69.4, Brunson Elementary is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools, which includes Brunson Elementary.

$13,036
Per student
+8%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.3%
State 52.1%
Federal 22.5%

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 Brunson Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
West Forsyth High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Ronald W Reagan High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
R J Reynolds High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
East Forsyth High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Parkland High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Brunson Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Winston Salem

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Brunson Elementary's federal record.

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 Brunson Elementary

How many students attend Brunson Elementary?

Brunson Elementary has 355 students enrolled. It is a public school in Winston Salem, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Brunson Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Brunson Elementary is 12.7:1, which is 20% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 19% lower 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 Brunson Elementary?

99.3% of students at Brunson Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Brunson Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Brunson Elementary is African American at 41.4% of enrollment, in Winston Salem, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 69.4/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Brunson Elementary?

Brunson Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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).

How does Brunson Elementary rank among schools in Winston Salem?

By Resource Investment Index, Brunson Elementary ranks #10 of 22 schools in Winston Salem, NC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Winston Salem on the city page.

Is Brunson Elementary a good school?

Brunson Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina 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 Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools?

Besides Brunson Elementary, Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools also operates West Forsyth High (2,145 students), Ronald W Reagan High School (2,122 students), and R J Reynolds High (1,759 students). See the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.