Enrollment
273
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Chilhowie, VA
Chilhowie Middle
Federal NCES profile for Chilhowie Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 510352001441
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Chilhowie Middle earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Virginia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools.
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.4:1
- small classes for Virginia
- 69.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 273
- students enrolled
Chilhowie Middle has class sizes smaller than 73% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Smyth County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510352001441 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
69.6%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Chilhowie Middle compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Chilhowie Middle
Chilhowie Middle is a higher-need, small middle school in Chilhowie, Virginia, enrolling 273 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 69.6% lands close to the Virginia typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 273 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 129 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #61.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 15/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 273 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 17.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Smyth County Public Schools also operates Chilhowie Elementary (589 students) and Marion Senior High (563 students) alongside Chilhowie Middle.
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 Chilhowie Middle compares
Chilhowie Middle on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▼ 11% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 69.6% | ▲ 21% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 273 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
273
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
69.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 21% above the Virginia average of 57.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 11% below state mean
Top 27% in Virginia - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
21.6%
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
$13,836
per pupil, district-wide
- below Virginia avg of $14,649
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 273 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.2 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 91.9%
Hispanic or Latino 3.7%
African American 2.9%
Two or More 1.1%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 91.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.3, Chilhowie Middle is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Smyth County Public Schools, which includes Chilhowie Middle.
$13,836
Per student
-6%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.6%
State 58.5%
Federal 17.9%
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 Chilhowie Middle Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilhowie Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Marion Senior High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Marion Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Chilhowie High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Oak Point Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Chilhowie Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 589
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 563
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 401
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 384
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 352
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~273 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Chilhowie Middle's federal record.
- Compare Chilhowie Middle against another school. Compare schools
- Smyth County Public 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 Chilhowie Middle
How many students attend Chilhowie Middle?
Chilhowie Middle has 273 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Chilhowie, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Chilhowie Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Chilhowie Middle is 12.4:1, which is 11% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 21% 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 Chilhowie Middle?
69.6% of students at Chilhowie Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Chilhowie Middle?
The largest demographic group at Chilhowie Middle is White at 91.9% of enrollment, in Chilhowie, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Chilhowie Middle?
Chilhowie Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Chilhowie Middle a good school?
Chilhowie Middle earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Virginia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia 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 Smyth County Public Schools?
Besides Chilhowie Middle, Smyth County Public Schools also operates Chilhowie Elementary (589 students), Marion Senior High (563 students), and Marion Middle (401 students). See the Smyth County Public 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.