Enrollment
967
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 510081000310
Oscar Smith Middle — Chesapeake, VA
Federal NCES profile for Oscar Smith Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 48
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Chesapeake City Public Schools · Virginia
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
88.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.9:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
89.8%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
+50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Oscar Smith Middle compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Oscar Smith Middle reports 967 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 88.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% below the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 89.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 50% above the Virginia average and 73% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 322 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Chesapeake City Public Schools spends $15,216 per pupil district-wide, below the Virginia average of $16,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 47.1% from local sources (property taxes), 42.6% from the state, and 10.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Oscar Smith Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.9:1 | ▼ 22% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 89.8% | ▲ 50% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 967 | top 84% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
89.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 50% above the Virginia average of 59.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.9:1
students per teacher
— 22% below state mean
Top 9% in Virginia — lower ratio than 91% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
20.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,216
per pupil, district-wide
— below Virginia avg of $16,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 322 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
105
in-school suspensions + 191 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 967 Top 84% in Virginia — larger than 16% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 88.0
Students per teacher 10.9:1 -22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 89.8% +50% vs state
NCES ID 510081000310
Student demographics
African American 64.2%
Hispanic or Latino 16.9%
White 11.7%
Two or More 7.0%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 64.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 322:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.9%
In-school suspensions 105
Out-of-school suspensions 191
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chesapeake City Public Schools, which includes Oscar Smith Middle.
$15,216
Per student
-6%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 47.1%
State 42.6%
Federal 10.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,345
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,264
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 2,138
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,691
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,634
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
Similar middle schools in Chesapeake
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Great Bridge Middle
Standard public school
1,309 students 14.4:1 students per teacher
Hugo a. Owens Middle
Standard public school
1,286 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Hickory Middle
Standard public school
1,285 students 13.8:1 students per teacher
Western Branch Middle
Standard public school
855 students 13.4:1 students per teacher
Greenbrier Middle
Standard public school
788 students 12:1 students per teacher
Deep Creek Middle
Standard public school
764 students 12.6:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Oscar Smith Middle
How many students attend Oscar Smith Middle?
Oscar Smith Middle has 967 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Chesapeake, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Oscar Smith Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Oscar Smith Middle is 10.9:1, which is 22% lower than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 31% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Oscar Smith Middle?
89.8% of students at Oscar Smith Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Oscar Smith Middle?
The largest demographic group at Oscar Smith Middle is African American at 64.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Chesapeake, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Oscar Smith Middle?
Oscar Smith Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.