Enrollment
230
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Natural Bridge Station, VA
Natural Bridge Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Natural Bridge Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510337001486
👥 S:T ratio 62
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Natural Bridge Elementary earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Virginia schools.
- 58
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.6:1
- small classes for Virginia
- 67.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 230
- students enrolled
Natural Bridge Elementary has class sizes smaller than 96% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Rockbridge County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510337001486 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.6:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
67.9%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Natural Bridge Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Natural Bridge Elementary
Natural Bridge Elementary is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Natural Bridge Station, Virginia, enrolling 230 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.6:1, Natural Bridge Elementary is leaner than roughly 96% of Virginia schools and 31% under the state's 13.9:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 67.9% lands close to the Virginia typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of Virginia schools, with 230 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Against 90 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #32.
Its student body is led by White (77%) and Two or More (13%) (diversity index 38/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 230 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Rockbridge County Public Schools also operates Rockbridge County High (916 students) and Maury River Middle (481 students) alongside Natural Bridge 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 Natural Bridge Elementary compares
Natural Bridge Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.6:1 | ▼ 31% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 67.9% | ▲ 18% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 230 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.6:1
Leaner classes than 91% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
230
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
67.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 18% 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
9.6:1
students per teacher
- 31% below state mean
Top 4% in Virginia - lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
22.2%
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
$13,936
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 230 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.3 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 77.4%
Two or More 12.6%
Hispanic or Latino 6.5%
African American 3.5%
Largest group: White at 77.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 38.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 38.0, Natural Bridge Elementary is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rockbridge County Public Schools, which includes Natural Bridge Elementary.
$13,936
Per student
-5%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 50.4%
State 37.2%
Federal 12.4%
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 Natural Bridge Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockbridge County High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Maury River Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Central Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Fairfield Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mountain View Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Natural Bridge Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 916
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 481
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 466
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 241
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
- Enrollment
- 154
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar other 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 (~230 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~9.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Natural Bridge Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Natural Bridge Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Rockbridge 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 Natural Bridge Elementary
How many students attend Natural Bridge Elementary?
Natural Bridge Elementary has 230 students enrolled. It is a public school in Natural Bridge Station, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Natural Bridge Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Natural Bridge Elementary is 9.6:1, which is 31% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 39% 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 Natural Bridge Elementary?
67.9% of students at Natural Bridge Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Natural Bridge Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Natural Bridge Elementary is White at 77.4% of enrollment, in Natural Bridge Station, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Natural Bridge Elementary?
Natural Bridge Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (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 Natural Bridge Elementary a good school?
Natural Bridge Elementary earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% 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 Rockbridge County Public Schools?
Besides Natural Bridge Elementary, Rockbridge County Public Schools also operates Rockbridge County High (916 students), Maury River Middle (481 students), and Central Elementary (466 students). See the Rockbridge County Public Schools district page for the complete list.
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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.