Enrollment
487
Vermont · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Brandon, VT
Otter Valley Union High School
Federal NCES profile for Otter Valley Union High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 500039200234
👥 S:T ratio 52
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 76
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Otter Valley Union High School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Vermont median.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.9:1
- students per teacher
- 47.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 487
- students enrolled
Otter Valley Union High School has class sizes near the Vermont median. Computed live against every Vermont school reporting to NCES.
School address
NCES ID 500039200234 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.9:1
vs 11.9:1 Vermont avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.0%
vs 27.6% Vermont avg
+70% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Otter Valley Union High School compares with Vermont and U.S. medians
What stands out at Otter Valley Union High School
Otter Valley Union High School is a large combined-grade school in Brandon, Vermont, enrolling 487 students.
At 11.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Vermont median, within a few percentage points of the 11.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 47.0% of students qualify for free meals, 70% above the Vermont average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 487 puts it in the larger third of Vermont schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 288 scored Vermont schools.
Against 21 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #6.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 122 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 40.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Discipline events run high: 137 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 487 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Among Brandon's public schools, it stands alongside Neshobe School (387 students): Otter Valley Union High School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.9:1 vs 15.5:1).
Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53 also operates Neshobe School (387 students) and Lothrop School (192 students) alongside Otter Valley Union High School.
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 Otter Valley Union High School compares
Otter Valley Union High School on the metrics families compare, against Vermont and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Vermont | Vermont avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.9:1 | ▼ 0% | 11.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.0% | ▲ 70% | 27.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 487 | top 13% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.9:1
Leaner classes than 76% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
487
Bigger than 60% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
47.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 70% above the Vermont average of 27.6%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.9:1
students per teacher
- 0% above state mean
Top 56% in Vermont - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
40.9%
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
$17,229
per pupil, district-wide
- below Vermont avg of $19,105
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 122 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
49
in-school suspensions + 88 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 28.1 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 87.3%
Two or More 8.8%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
Asian 0.6%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 87.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.9, Otter Valley Union High School is more mixed than the Vermont school average of 19.5.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53, which includes Otter Valley Union High School.
$17,229
Per student
-10%
vs Vermont
Avg $19,105
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 3.2%
State 96.5%
Federal 0.3%
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.
How Otter Valley Union High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neshobe School | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lothrop School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Otter Creek Academy at Leicester Sudbury and Whiting | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Otter Valley Union High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 387
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 192
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 92
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
Similar other schools in Brandon
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Vermont, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~487 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Otter Valley Union High School's federal record.
- Compare Otter Valley Union High School against another school. Compare schools
- Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53'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 Otter Valley Union High School
How many students attend Otter Valley Union High School?
Otter Valley Union High School has 487 students enrolled. It is a public school in Brandon, VT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Otter Valley Union High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Otter Valley Union High School is 11.9:1, which is 0% higher than the Vermont average of 11.9:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Otter Valley Union High School?
47.0% of students at Otter Valley Union High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Vermont average of 27.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Otter Valley Union High School?
The largest demographic group at Otter Valley Union High School is White at 87.3% of enrollment, in Brandon, VT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Otter Valley Union High School?
Otter Valley Union High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Otter Valley Union High School a good school?
Otter Valley Union High School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Vermont 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 Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53?
Besides Otter Valley Union High School, Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53 also operates Neshobe School (387 students), Lothrop School (192 students), and Otter Creek Academy at Leicester Sudbury and Whiting (92 students). See the Otter Valley Unified Union School District #53 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.