Enrollment
281
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Ferrum, VA
Ferrum Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Ferrum Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510144000636
👥 S:T ratio 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 76
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ferrum Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 87% of Virginia schools.
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 16.5:1
- large classes for Virginia
- 74.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 281
- students enrolled
Ferrum Elementary has class sizes larger than 87% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Franklin County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510144000636 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
74.9%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ferrum Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ferrum Elementary
Ferrum Elementary is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Ferrum, Virginia, enrolling 281 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.5:1 is larger than about 87% of Virginia schools and 19% above the 13.9:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 74.9% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 281 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 189 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #53.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 281 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance holds up well here: only 9.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Franklin County Public Schools also operates Franklin County High (1,880 students) and Benjamin Franklin Middle (1,382 students) alongside Ferrum 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 Ferrum Elementary compares
Ferrum Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 19% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 74.9% | ▲ 30% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 281 | top 86% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.5:1
Leaner classes than 34% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
281
Bigger than 30% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
74.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 30% 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
16.5:1
students per teacher
- 19% above state mean
Top 87% in Virginia - lower ratio than 13% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$13,983
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 281 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 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 82.9%
Two or More 6.4%
African American 5.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.6%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 82.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 30.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 30.3, Ferrum Elementary is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Franklin County Public Schools, which includes Ferrum Elementary.
$13,983
Per student
-5%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 40.5%
State 45.9%
Federal 13.6%
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 Ferrum Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Benjamin Franklin Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Windy Gap Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lee M. Waid Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dudley Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ferrum Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,880
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 1,382
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 391
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 386
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 317
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar other 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 (~281 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ferrum Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Ferrum Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Franklin 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 Ferrum Elementary
How many students attend Ferrum Elementary?
Ferrum Elementary has 281 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ferrum, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ferrum Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Ferrum Elementary is 16.5:1, which is 19% higher than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ferrum Elementary?
74.9% of students at Ferrum Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ferrum Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Ferrum Elementary is White at 82.9% of enrollment, in Ferrum, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ferrum Elementary?
Ferrum 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 Ferrum Elementary a good school?
Ferrum Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 87% of 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 Franklin County Public Schools?
Besides Ferrum Elementary, Franklin County Public Schools also operates Franklin County High (1,880 students), Benjamin Franklin Middle (1,382 students), and Windy Gap Elementary (391 students). See the Franklin 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.