Enrollment
972
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010027001711
Fairhope West Elementary — Fairhope, AL
Federal NCES profile for Fairhope West Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 64
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Baldwin County · Alabama
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
61.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.9%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fairhope West Elementary compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Fairhope West Elementary reports 972 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 61.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% below the Alabama average and 33% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 324 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Baldwin County spends $14,037 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.2% from local sources (property taxes), 37.3% from the state, and 10.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Fairhope West Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▼ 7% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.9% | ▼ 41% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 972 | top 92% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
34.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 30% in Alabama — lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,037
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 324 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
27
in-school suspensions + 57 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 972 Top 92% in Alabama — larger than 8% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 61.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.9% -41% vs state
NCES ID 010027001711
Student demographics
White 74.4%
African American 8.5%
Hispanic or Latino 8.2%
Two or More 7.6%
Asian 1.2%
Largest group: White at 74.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 324:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.4%
In-school suspensions 27
Out-of-school suspensions 57
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Baldwin County, which includes Fairhope West Elementary.
$14,037
Per student
-3%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.2%
State 37.3%
Federal 10.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,639
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,536
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,520
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,418
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,115
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
Similar other schools in Fairhope
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Fairhope West Elementary
How many students attend Fairhope West Elementary?
Fairhope West Elementary has 972 students enrolled. It is a other school in Fairhope, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fairhope West Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Fairhope West Elementary is 16.5:1, which is 7% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fairhope West Elementary?
34.9% of students at Fairhope West Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fairhope West Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Fairhope West Elementary is White at 74.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Fairhope, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fairhope West Elementary?
Fairhope West Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.