Enrollment
242
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Shelby, AL
Shelby Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Shelby Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010303001181
👥 S:T ratio 26
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 3
📋 Attendance 61
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shelby Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama median.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 18.6:1
- students per teacher
- 58.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 242
- students enrolled
Shelby Elementary School has class sizes near the Alabama median. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
13.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.6:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
58.9%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shelby Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shelby Elementary School
Shelby Elementary School is a higher-need, small combined-grade school in Shelby, Alabama, enrolling 242 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 18.6:1 puts it in the larger third of Alabama schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 58.9% lands close to the Alabama typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 242 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Among 153 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Alabama schools statewide, it ranks #112, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 484 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
15.7% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Shelby County also operates Oak Mountain High School (1,648 students) and Helena High School (1,383 students) alongside Shelby Elementary 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 Shelby Elementary School compares
Shelby Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.6:1 | ▲ 5% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 58.9% | ▲ 0% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 242 | top 88% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.6:1
Leaner classes than 22% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
242
Bigger than 24% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
58.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 0% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.6:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 68% in Alabama - lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$11,253
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that 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 + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 87.2%
Hispanic or Latino 6.6%
African American 4.5%
Two or More 1.7%
Largest group: White at 87.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 23.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 23.3, Shelby Elementary School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Shelby County, which includes Shelby Elementary School.
$11,253
Per student
-10%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.9%
State 51.9%
Federal 9.2%
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 Shelby Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Mountain High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Helena High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Chelsea High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Oak Mountain Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Calera High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Shelby Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,648
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,383
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 1,235
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 1,168
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 1,018
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~242 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shelby Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Shelby Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Shelby County'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 Shelby Elementary School
How many students attend Shelby Elementary School?
Shelby Elementary School has 242 students enrolled. It is a public school in Shelby, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shelby Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Shelby Elementary School is 18.6:1, which is 5% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Shelby Elementary School?
58.9% of students at Shelby Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shelby Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Shelby Elementary School is White at 87.2% of enrollment, in Shelby, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shelby Elementary School?
Shelby Elementary 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 Shelby Elementary School a good school?
Shelby Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama 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 Shelby County?
Besides Shelby Elementary School, Shelby County also operates Oak Mountain High School (1,648 students), Helena High School (1,383 students), and Chelsea High School (1,235 students). See the Shelby County 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.