Enrollment
186
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Fort Deposit, AL
Fort Deposit Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Fort Deposit Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010216001635
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 63
📋 Attendance 58
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Fort Deposit Elementary School earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Alabama schools.
- 57
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.5:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 95.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 186
- students enrolled
Fort Deposit Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 78% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lowndes County · Alabama
NCES ID 010216001635 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
95.4%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+62% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fort Deposit Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Fort Deposit Elementary School
Fort Deposit Elementary School is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Fort Deposit, Alabama, enrolling 186 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 15.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 95.4% of students qualify for free meals, 62% above the Alabama average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 94% of Alabama schools, with 186 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 97% of the 1,365 Alabama schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 50 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Alabama schools statewide, it ranks #4, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly African American (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 19/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 186 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
16.7% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Lowndes County spends $20,753 per pupil, 66% above the Alabama average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 31.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Lowndes County also operates Central Elementary School (200 students) and Calhoun High School (186 students) alongside Fort Deposit Elementary 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 Fort Deposit Elementary School compares
Fort Deposit Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.5:1 | ▼ 12% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 95.4% | ▲ 62% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 186 | top 94% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.5:1
Leaner classes than 42% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
186
Bigger than 18% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
95.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 62% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 22% in Alabama - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
16.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$20,753
per pupil, district-wide
- above Alabama avg of $12,491
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 186 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.0 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
African American 89.8%
White 6.5%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
Two or More 1.6%
Largest group: African American at 89.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 18.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 18.9, Fort Deposit Elementary School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lowndes County, which includes Fort Deposit Elementary School.
$20,753
Per student
+66%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
+25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.7%
State 50.3%
Federal 31.0%
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 Deposit Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Calhoun High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Central High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Hayneville Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Jacksonsteele Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Fort Deposit Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 200
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 186
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 175
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 144
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 114
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~186 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Fort Deposit Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Fort Deposit Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Lowndes County'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 Fort Deposit Elementary School
How many students attend Fort Deposit Elementary School?
Fort Deposit Elementary School has 186 students enrolled. It is a public school in Fort Deposit, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fort Deposit Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fort Deposit Elementary School is 15.5:1, which is 12% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 1% 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 Deposit Elementary School?
95.4% of students at Fort Deposit Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fort Deposit Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Fort Deposit Elementary School is African American at 89.8% of enrollment, in Fort Deposit, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fort Deposit Elementary School?
Fort Deposit Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (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 Fort Deposit Elementary School a good school?
Fort Deposit Elementary School earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Alabama 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 Lowndes County?
Besides Fort Deposit Elementary School, Lowndes County also operates Central Elementary School (200 students), Calhoun High School (186 students), and Central High School (175 students). See the Lowndes County 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.