Enrollment
328
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010000701743
Shades Mountain Elementary School — Hoover, AL
Federal NCES profile for Shades Mountain Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 43
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 76
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: Hoover City · Alabama
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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.0%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shades Mountain Elementary School compares with Alabama 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
Shades Mountain Elementary School reports 328 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 10% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 27% below the Alabama average and 17% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 328 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hoover City spends $15,357 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.6% from local sources (property taxes), 39.9% from the state, and 8.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), 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 Shades Mountain Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.3:1 | ▼ 20% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.0% | ▼ 27% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 328 | top 23% | — | — |
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
43.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 27% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.3:1
students per teacher
— 20% below state mean
Top 8% in Alabama — lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
9.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$15,357
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 328 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 328 Top 23% in Alabama — larger than 77% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 14.3:1 -20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.0% -27% vs state
NCES ID 010000701743
Student demographics
White 56.1%
African American 16.5%
Two or More 10.7%
Hispanic or Latino 8.8%
Asian 7.9%
Largest group: White at 56.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 328:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.8%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hoover City, which includes Shades Mountain Elementary School.
$15,357
Per student
+6%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.6%
State 39.9%
Federal 8.5%
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
- 2,919
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,472
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,192
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Enrollment
- 1,058
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 860
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
Similar other schools in Hoover
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Trace Crossings Elementary School
Standard public school
769 students 15.5:1 students per teacher
Deer Valley Elementary School
Standard public school
735 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Bluff Park Elementary School
Standard public school
658 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Rocky Ridge Elementary School
Standard public school
577 students 13.3:1 students per teacher
Riverchase Elementary School
Standard public school
562 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
South Shades Crest Elementary School
Standard public school
534 students 15.8:1 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 Shades Mountain Elementary School
How many students attend Shades Mountain Elementary School?
Shades Mountain Elementary School has 328 students enrolled. It is a other school in Hoover, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shades Mountain Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Shades Mountain Elementary School is 14.3:1, which is 20% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 10% 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 Shades Mountain Elementary School?
43.0% of students at Shades Mountain Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shades Mountain Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Shades Mountain Elementary School is White at 56.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Hoover, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shades Mountain Elementary School?
Shades Mountain Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.