Middle school (grades 6-8) · Ashland, VA

Liberty Middle

Federal NCES profile for Liberty Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 57/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 510183000773
0/100100/10057/100
👥 S:T ratio
50
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
39
📋 Attendance
69
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Liberty Middle earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Virginia schools.

#1 of 5
public schools in Ashland · Resource Index
57
Resource Index · Higher
12.5:1
small classes for Virginia
35.8%
free-lunch eligible

Liberty Middle has class sizes smaller than 72% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Liberty Middle ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Ashland, VA.

Enrollment

910

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

73.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.5:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

-10% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

35.8%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

-38% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Liberty Middle 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 Liberty Middle

Liberty Middle is a mid-sized middle school in Ashland, Virginia, enrolling 910 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 35.8% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 910 puts it in the larger third of Virginia schools by headcount.

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

Against 276 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #42.

Its student body is led by White (66%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 53/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 303 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

12.6% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Discipline events run high: 329 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 910 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Hanover County Public Schools also operates Atlee High (1,470 students) and Hanover High (1,349 students) alongside Liberty Middle.

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 Liberty Middle compares

Liberty Middle on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Virginia Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.5:1 ▼ 10% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 35.8% ▼ 38% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 910 top 18% - -

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.
910
Bigger than 89% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
35.8%
free-lunch eligible - 38% below the Virginia average of 57.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher - 10% below state mean
Top 28% in Virginia - lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
12.6%
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
$12,547
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 303 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
161
in-school suspensions + 168 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 36.2 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 65.7%
Hispanic or Latino 17.1%
African American 9.8%
Two or More 5.6%
Asian 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: White at 65.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 52.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 52.6, Liberty Middle is about as mixed as the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hanover County Public Schools, which includes Liberty Middle.

$12,547
Per student
-14%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.1%
State 43.1%
Federal 11.8%

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 Liberty Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Atlee High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hanover High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Patrick Henry High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Mechanicsville High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Chickahominy Middle Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Liberty Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Hanover County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle 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 Liberty Middle'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 Liberty Middle

How many students attend Liberty Middle?

Liberty Middle has 910 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Ashland, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberty Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Liberty Middle is 12.5:1, which is 10% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 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 Liberty Middle?

35.8% of students at Liberty Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberty Middle?

The largest demographic group at Liberty Middle is White at 65.7% of enrollment, in Ashland, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberty Middle?

Liberty Middle 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).

How does Liberty Middle rank among public schools in Ashland?

By Resource Investment Index, Liberty Middle ranks #1 of 5 public schools in Ashland, 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 Ashland on the city page.

Is Liberty Middle a good school?

Liberty Middle earns 57/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% 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 Hanover County Public Schools?

Besides Liberty Middle, Hanover County Public Schools also operates Atlee High (1,470 students), Hanover High (1,349 students), and Patrick Henry High (1,294 students). See the Hanover 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.