Enrollment
254
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Damascus, VA
Holston High
Federal NCES profile for Holston High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 510390001745
👥 S:T ratio 56
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 75
📋 Attendance 13
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Holston High earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Virginia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools.
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11:1
- small classes for Virginia
- 82.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 254
- students enrolled
Holston High has class sizes smaller than 88% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Washington County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510390001745 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
82.4%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Holston High compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Holston High
Holston High is a high-poverty, small high school in Damascus, Virginia, enrolling 254 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11:1, Holston High is leaner than roughly 88% of Virginia schools and 21% under the state's 13.9:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 82.4% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 254 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 179 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #82.
Its student body is predominantly White (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 127 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Washington County Public Schools also operates Abingdon High (914 students) and E.B. Stanley Middle (659 students) alongside Holston 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 Holston High compares
Holston 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 | 11:1 | ▼ 21% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 82.4% | ▲ 43% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 254 | top 89% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11:1
Leaner classes than 83% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
254
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
82.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 43% 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
11:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 12% in Virginia - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
35.0%
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
$13,303
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 127 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.0 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 96.1%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
Two or More 1.6%
African American 0.8%
Largest group: White at 96.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 7.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 7.6, Holston 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 Washington County Public Schools, which includes Holston High.
$13,303
Per student
-9%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.6%
State 50.9%
Federal 12.5%
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.
How Holston High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abingdon High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| E.B. Stanley Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| John S. Battle High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| High Point Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Watauga Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Holston High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 914
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 659
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 613
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 582
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 581
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~254 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Holston High's federal record.
- Compare Holston High against another school. Compare schools
- Washington 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 Holston High
How many students attend Holston High?
Holston High has 254 students enrolled. It is a high school in Damascus, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Holston High?
The student-teacher ratio at Holston High is 11:1, which is 21% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 30% 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 Holston High?
82.4% of students at Holston High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Holston High?
The largest demographic group at Holston High is White at 96.1% of enrollment, in Damascus, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Holston High?
Holston High has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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).
Is Holston High a good school?
Holston High earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of Virginia schools. 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 Washington County Public Schools?
Besides Holston High, Washington County Public Schools also operates Abingdon High (914 students), E.B. Stanley Middle (659 students), and John S. Battle High (613 students). See the Washington 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.