Enrollment
387
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Waddy, KY
Heritage Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Heritage Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 210532001688
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 72
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Heritage Elementary earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Kentucky schools.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.5:1
- small classes for Kentucky
- 44.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 387
- students enrolled
Heritage Elementary has class sizes smaller than 79% of Kentucky schools. Computed live against every Kentucky school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 15.2:1 Kentucky avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.8%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heritage Elementary compares with Kentucky and U.S. medians
What stands out at Heritage Elementary
Heritage Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Waddy, Kentucky, enrolling 387 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kentucky schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 44.8% of students eligible for free meals.
With 387 students, its enrollment sits close to the Kentucky median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,389 scored Kentucky schools.
Against 266 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #43.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 387 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
11.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 16.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Shelby County also operates Martha Layne Collins High School (1,157 students) and Shelby County High School (1,003 students) alongside Heritage 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 Heritage Elementary compares
Heritage Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Kentucky and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 18% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.8% | ▼ 24% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 387 | top 58% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.5:1
Leaner classes than 71% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
387
Bigger than 45% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
44.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% below the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 21% in Kentucky - lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
11.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$12,646
per pupil, district-wide
- below Kentucky avg of $13,211
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 387 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.7 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%
Hispanic or Latino 8.3%
Two or More 6.7%
African American 1.8%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 82.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 30.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 30.1, Heritage Elementary is less mixed than the Kentucky school average of 34.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Shelby County, which includes Heritage Elementary.
$12,646
Per student
-4%
vs Kentucky
Avg $13,211
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 39.0%
State 44.0%
Federal 16.9%
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 Heritage Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martha Layne Collins High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shelby County High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Marnel C. Moorman School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shelby County West Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shelby County East Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Heritage Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,157
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,003
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 803
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 563
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 505
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kentucky, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~387 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Heritage Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Heritage Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Shelby 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 Heritage Elementary
How many students attend Heritage Elementary?
Heritage Elementary has 387 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Waddy, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heritage Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Heritage Elementary is 12.5:1, which is 18% lower than the Kentucky average of 15.2:1 and 20% 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 Heritage Elementary?
44.8% of students at Heritage Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heritage Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Heritage Elementary is White at 82.9% of enrollment, in Waddy, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heritage Elementary?
Heritage Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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 Heritage Elementary a good school?
Heritage Elementary earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Kentucky 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 Shelby County?
Besides Heritage Elementary, Shelby County also operates Martha Layne Collins High School (1,157 students), Shelby County High School (1,003 students), and Marnel C. Moorman School (803 students). See the Shelby 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.