High school (grades 9-12) · Max Meadows, VA

Fort Chiswell High

Federal NCES profile for Fort Chiswell High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 510411001800
0/100100/10037/100
👥 S:T ratio
47
📚 AP courses
10
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
59
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Fort Chiswell High earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools.

#2 of 3
public schools in Max Meadows · Resource Index
37
Resource Index · Typical
13.3:1
students per teacher
72.6%
free-lunch eligible

Fort Chiswell High has class sizes near the Virginia median. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Fort Chiswell High ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Max Meadows, VA.

Enrollment

411

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

31.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.3:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

-4% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

72.6%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

+26% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Fort Chiswell High compares with Virginia and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Fort Chiswell High

Fort Chiswell High is a higher-need, mid-sized high school in Max Meadows, Virginia, enrolling 411 students.

At 13.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Virginia median, within a few percentage points of the 13.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 72.6% lands close to the Virginia typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 411 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.

Among 279 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Virginia schools statewide, it ranks #212, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).

No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 206 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 47.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.

Wythe County Public Schools also operates Spiller Elementary (615 students) and George Wythe High (421 students) alongside Fort Chiswell High.

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 Fort Chiswell High compares

Fort Chiswell High on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Virginia Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.3:1 ▼ 4% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 72.6% ▲ 26% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 411 top 72% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.3:1
Leaner classes than 64% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
411
Bigger than 49% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
72.6%
free-lunch eligible - 26% 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
13.3:1
students per teacher - 4% below state mean
Top 42% in Virginia - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
47.2%
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
$12,353
per pupil, district-wide - below Virginia avg of $14,649
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 206 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
39
in-school suspensions + 40 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 19.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.

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 94.4%
Two or More 2.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1.9%
African American 0.7%
Asian 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: White at 94.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 10.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 10.8, Fort Chiswell High is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wythe County Public Schools, which includes Fort Chiswell High.

$12,353
Per student
-16%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.2%
State 57.0%
Federal 8.8%

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 Fort Chiswell High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Spiller Elementary Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
George Wythe High Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Rural Retreat Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Fort Chiswell Middle Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Scott Memorial Middle Smaller Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Fort Chiswell High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Wythe County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Fort Chiswell High's federal record.

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 Fort Chiswell High

How many students attend Fort Chiswell High?

Fort Chiswell High has 411 students enrolled. It is a high school in Max Meadows, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Fort Chiswell High?

The student-teacher ratio at Fort Chiswell High is 13.3:1, which is 4% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 15% 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 Fort Chiswell High?

72.6% of students at Fort Chiswell High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fort Chiswell High?

The largest demographic group at Fort Chiswell High is White at 94.4% of enrollment, in Max Meadows, VA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Fort Chiswell High?

Fort Chiswell High has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Fort Chiswell High rank among public schools in Max Meadows?

By Resource Investment Index, Fort Chiswell High ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Max Meadows, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Max Meadows on the city page.

Is Fort Chiswell High a good school?

Fort Chiswell High earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. 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 Wythe County Public Schools?

Besides Fort Chiswell High, Wythe County Public Schools also operates Spiller Elementary (615 students), George Wythe High (421 students), and Rural Retreat Elementary (350 students). See the Wythe County Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.