Enrollment
608
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Mills River, NC
Mills River Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Mills River Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370210000922
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mills River Elementary earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.6:1
- students per teacher
- 33.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 608
- students enrolled
Mills River Elementary has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Henderson County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370210000922 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.6:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.8%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mills River Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mills River Elementary
Mills River Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Mills River, North Carolina, enrolling 608 students.
At 15.6:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the North Carolina median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 33.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 608 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 339 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #217.
Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 608 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 19.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Henderson County Schools also operates West Henderson High (1,053 students) and North Henderson High (1,052 students) alongside Mills River 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 Mills River Elementary compares
Mills River Elementary on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.6:1 | ▼ 1% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.8% | ▼ 49% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 608 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.6:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
608
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 49% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.6:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 57% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
20.4%
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
$11,469
per pupil, district-wide
- below North Carolina avg of $12,017
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 608 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 81.7%
Hispanic or Latino 12.5%
Two or More 3.6%
African American 1.2%
Asian 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 81.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 31.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 31.5, Mills River Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Henderson County Schools, which includes Mills River Elementary.
$11,469
Per student
-5%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.8%
State 58.3%
Federal 19.9%
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 Mills River Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Henderson High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| North Henderson High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| East Henderson High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rugby Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Apple Valley Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Mills River Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,053
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,052
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 932
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 849
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 820
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~608 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mills River Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Mills River Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Henderson County 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 Mills River Elementary
How many students attend Mills River Elementary?
Mills River Elementary has 608 students enrolled. It is a public school in Mills River, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mills River Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Mills River Elementary is 15.6:1, which is 1% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 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 Mills River Elementary?
33.8% of students at Mills River Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mills River Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Mills River Elementary is White at 81.7% of enrollment, in Mills River, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mills River Elementary?
Mills River Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical 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 Mills River Elementary a good school?
Mills River Elementary earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median. 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 Henderson County Schools?
Besides Mills River Elementary, Henderson County Schools also operates West Henderson High (1,053 students), North Henderson High (1,052 students), and East Henderson High (932 students). See the Henderson County 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.