Enrollment
570
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cullowhee, NC
Cullowhee Valley School
Federal NCES profile for Cullowhee Valley School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370234001002
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cullowhee Valley School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of North Carolina schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 64.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 570
- students enrolled
Cullowhee Valley School has class sizes smaller than 78% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Jackson County Public Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370234001002 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.5%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cullowhee Valley School compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cullowhee Valley School
Cullowhee Valley School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cullowhee, North Carolina, enrolling 570 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 64.5% lands close to the North Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 570 students, its enrollment sits close to the North Carolina median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 445 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #181.
Its student body is led by White (60%) and Hispanic or Latino (30%) (diversity index 55/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 285 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 56.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 24.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Jackson County Public Schools also operates Smoky Mountain High School (881 students) and Fairview Elementary (797 students) alongside Cullowhee Valley 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 Cullowhee Valley School compares
Cullowhee Valley School 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 | 13:1 | ▼ 18% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.5% | ▼ 2% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 570 | top 39% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
570
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
64.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% 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
13:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 22% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
56.5%
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
$13,534
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 285 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
29
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.8 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 59.8%
Hispanic or Latino 30.0%
Two or More 4.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.9%
African American 0.9%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 59.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.8, Cullowhee Valley School is about as mixed as the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jackson County Public Schools, which includes Cullowhee Valley School.
$13,534
Per student
+13%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.8%
State 51.8%
Federal 24.5%
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 Cullowhee Valley School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Mountain High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Fairview Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Scotts Creek Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Smokey Mountain Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Blue Ridge School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cullowhee Valley School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 881
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 797
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 422
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 340
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 144
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
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 (~570 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cullowhee Valley School's federal record.
- Compare Cullowhee Valley School against another school. Compare schools
- Jackson 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 Cullowhee Valley School
How many students attend Cullowhee Valley School?
Cullowhee Valley School has 570 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cullowhee, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cullowhee Valley School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cullowhee Valley School is 13:1, which is 18% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 17% 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 Cullowhee Valley School?
64.5% of students at Cullowhee Valley School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cullowhee Valley School?
The largest demographic group at Cullowhee Valley School is White at 59.8% of enrollment, in Cullowhee, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cullowhee Valley School?
Cullowhee Valley 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 Cullowhee Valley School a good school?
Cullowhee Valley School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% 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 Jackson County Public Schools?
Besides Cullowhee Valley School, Jackson County Public Schools also operates Smoky Mountain High School (881 students), Fairview Elementary (797 students), and Scotts Creek Elementary (422 students). See the Jackson 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.