Enrollment
240
West Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Avondale, WV
Sandy River Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Sandy River Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 540081001046
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sandy River Middle School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of West Virginia schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16:1
- large classes for West Virginia
- 240
- students enrolled
Sandy River Middle School has class sizes larger than 85% of West Virginia schools. Computed live against every West Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Mcdowell County Schools · West Virginia
NCES ID 540081001046 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 13.1:1 West Virginia avg
+22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sandy River Middle School compares with West Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sandy River Middle School
Sandy River Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Avondale, West Virginia, enrolling 240 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16:1 puts it in the larger third of West Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 240 students, its enrollment sits close to the West Virginia median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 643 scored West Virginia schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment) (diversity index 1/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 240 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 70.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 33.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Mcdowell County Schools also operates Mount View High School (521 students) and River View High School (405 students) alongside Sandy River Middle 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 Sandy River Middle School compares
Sandy River Middle School on the metrics families compare, against West Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs West Virginia | West Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16:1 | ▲ 22% | 13.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 240 | top 64% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16:1
Leaner classes than 38% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
240
Bigger than 24% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
- 22% above state mean
Top 85% in West Virginia - lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
70.0%
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
$14,404
per pupil, district-wide
- below West Virginia avg of $14,844
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 240 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 40 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.7 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 99.6%
Hispanic or Latino 0.4%
Largest group: White at 99.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.8, Sandy River Middle School is less mixed than the West Virginia school average of 17.9.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mcdowell County Schools, which includes Sandy River Middle School.
$14,404
Per student
-3%
vs West Virginia
Avg $14,844
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.0%
State 38.8%
Federal 33.2%
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 Sandy River Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount View High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| River View High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southside K-8 | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Bradshaw Elementary School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Iaeger Elementary School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sandy River Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 521
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 405
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 266
- Students per teacher
- 9.2:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 214
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 201
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of West Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~240 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sandy River Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Sandy River Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Mcdowell 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 Sandy River Middle School
How many students attend Sandy River Middle School?
Sandy River Middle School has 240 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Avondale, WV.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sandy River Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sandy River Middle School is 16:1, which is 22% higher than the West Virginia average of 13.1:1 and 2% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sandy River Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Sandy River Middle School is White at 99.6% of enrollment, in Avondale, WV.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sandy River Middle School?
Sandy River Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Sandy River Middle School a good school?
Sandy River Middle School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of West 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 Mcdowell County Schools?
Besides Sandy River Middle School, Mcdowell County Schools also operates Mount View High School (521 students), River View High School (405 students), and Southside K-8 (266 students). See the Mcdowell 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.