Enrollment
289
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Vilas, NC
Cove Creek Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Cove Creek Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370483001936
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 42
📋 Attendance 53
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cove Creek Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of North Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most North Carolina schools.
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 41.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 289
- students enrolled
Cove Creek Elementary has class sizes smaller than 94% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Watauga County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370483001936 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-37% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.8%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cove Creek Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cove Creek Elementary
Cove Creek Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Vilas, North Carolina, enrolling 289 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10:1, Cove Creek Elementary is leaner than roughly 94% of North Carolina schools and 37% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 41.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 289 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 92% of the 2,698 North Carolina schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 191 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #26.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 289 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 15.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Watauga County Schools also operates Watauga High (1,289 students) and Hardin Park Elementary (854 students) alongside Cove Creek 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 Cove Creek Elementary compares
Cove Creek 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 | 10:1 | ▼ 37% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.8% | ▼ 37% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 289 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
289
Bigger than 31% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
41.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 37% below 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
10:1
students per teacher
- 37% below state mean
Top 6% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
19.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,698
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 289 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 16 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.1 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 87.2%
Hispanic or Latino 7.6%
Asian 3.1%
Two or More 1.0%
African American 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 87.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.3, Cove Creek Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Watauga County Schools, which includes Cove Creek Elementary.
$12,698
Per student
+6%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.9%
State 56.5%
Federal 15.6%
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 Cove Creek Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watauga High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hardin Park Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Parkway Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Blowing Rock Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Valle Crucis Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cove Creek Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,289
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 854
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
- Enrollment
- 610
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 409
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 345
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~289 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cove Creek Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Cove Creek Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Watauga 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 Cove Creek Elementary
How many students attend Cove Creek Elementary?
Cove Creek Elementary has 289 students enrolled. It is a public school in Vilas, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cove Creek Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cove Creek Elementary is 10:1, which is 37% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 36% 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 Cove Creek Elementary?
41.8% of students at Cove Creek Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cove Creek Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cove Creek Elementary is White at 87.2% of enrollment, in Vilas, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cove Creek Elementary?
Cove Creek Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (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 Cove Creek Elementary a good school?
Cove Creek Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of North Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Watauga County Schools?
Besides Cove Creek Elementary, Watauga County Schools also operates Watauga High (1,289 students), Hardin Park Elementary (854 students), and Parkway Elementary (610 students). See the Watauga 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.