Enrollment
216
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Clifton Forge, VA
Sharon Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Sharon Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 510015201891
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 20
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sharon Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 89% of Virginia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Virginia schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.8:1
- small classes for Virginia
- 72.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 216
- students enrolled
Sharon Elementary has class sizes smaller than 89% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Alleghany Highlands Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510015201891 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.8%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
+26% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sharon Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sharon Elementary
Sharon Elementary is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Clifton Forge, Virginia, enrolling 216 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.8:1, Sharon Elementary is leaner than roughly 89% of Virginia schools and 22% under the state's 13.9:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 72.8% 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 93% of Virginia schools, with 216 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Among 111 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Virginia schools statewide, it ranks #105, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 24/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 432 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Alleghany Highlands Public Schools also operates Alleghany High (818 students) and Clifton Middle (594 students) alongside Sharon 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 Sharon Elementary compares
Sharon 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 | 10.8:1 | ▼ 22% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.8% | ▲ 26% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 216 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.8:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
216
Bigger than 21% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
72.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 26% 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
10.8:1
students per teacher
- 22% below state mean
Top 11% in Virginia - lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
31.9%
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
$13,593
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
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.5 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 87.0%
African American 6.0%
Two or More 4.2%
Hispanic or Latino 1.9%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 87.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.7, Sharon Elementary is less mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, which includes Sharon Elementary.
$13,593
Per student
-7%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.4%
State 53.3%
Federal 11.3%
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 Sharon Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Clifton Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Jeter-Watson Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mountain View Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Covington High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sharon Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 818
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 594
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 491
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 415
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 339
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
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 (~216 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sharon Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Sharon Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Alleghany Highlands 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 Sharon Elementary
How many students attend Sharon Elementary?
Sharon Elementary has 216 students enrolled. It is a public school in Clifton Forge, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sharon Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sharon Elementary is 10.8:1, which is 22% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 31% 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 Sharon Elementary?
72.8% of students at Sharon Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sharon Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sharon Elementary is White at 87.0% of enrollment, in Clifton Forge, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sharon Elementary?
Sharon Elementary 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 Sharon Elementary a good school?
Sharon Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 89% of Virginia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Alleghany Highlands Public Schools?
Besides Sharon Elementary, Alleghany Highlands Public Schools also operates Alleghany High (818 students), Clifton Middle (594 students), and Jeter-Watson Elementary (491 students). See the Alleghany Highlands Public 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.