Enrollment
1,631
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Stephens City, VA
Sherando High
Federal NCES profile for Sherando High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 510147000524
👥 S:T ratio 43
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 18
📋 Attendance 41
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sherando High earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. It is also one of the largest schools in Virginia.
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 14.3:1
- students per teacher
- 29.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,631
- students enrolled
Sherando High has class sizes near the Virginia median. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Frederick County Public Schools · Virginia
NCES ID 510147000524 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
114.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg
+3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.5%
vs 57.6% Virginia avg
-49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sherando High compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sherando High
Sherando High is a large high school in Stephens City, Virginia, enrolling 1,631 students.
At 14.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Virginia median, within a few percentage points of the 13.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 29.5% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Virginia, bigger than 95% of state schools at 1,631 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,868 scored Virginia schools.
Among 118 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Virginia schools statewide, it ranks #96, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (62%) and Hispanic or Latino (22%) (diversity index 56/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 21 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 408 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 6 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Frederick County Public Schools also operates Millbrook High (1,550 students) and James Wood High (1,462 students) alongside Sherando High.
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 Sherando High compares
Sherando High on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.3:1 | ▲ 3% | 13.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.5% | ▼ 49% | 57.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,631 | top 5% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.3:1
Leaner classes than 54% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,631
Bigger than 97% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
29.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 49% below the Virginia average of 57.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.3:1
students per teacher
- 3% above state mean
Top 58% in Virginia - lower ratio than 42% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.7%
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
$13,938
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 408 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 216 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.
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 61.6%
Hispanic or Latino 22.4%
Two or More 7.1%
African American 5.7%
Asian 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 61.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 56.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 56.1, Sherando High is more mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 21
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Frederick County Public Schools, which includes Sherando High.
$13,938
Per student
-5%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 52.4%
State 39.5%
Federal 8.0%
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 Sherando High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millbrook High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| James Wood High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| James Wood Middle | Smaller | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Robert E. Aylor Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Admiral Richard E. Byrd Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sherando High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,550
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 1,462
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 873
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 861
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 853
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
Similar high 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 (~1,631 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sherando High's federal record.
- Compare Sherando High against another school. Compare schools
- Frederick County 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 Sherando High
How many students attend Sherando High?
Sherando High has 1,631 students enrolled. It is a high school in Stephens City, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sherando High?
The student-teacher ratio at Sherando High is 14.3:1, which is 3% higher than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sherando High?
29.5% of students at Sherando High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sherando High?
The largest demographic group at Sherando High is White at 61.6% of enrollment, in Stephens City, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 56.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sherando High?
Sherando High has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 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 Sherando High a good school?
Sherando High earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median. It is also one of the largest schools in Virginia. 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 Frederick County Public Schools?
Besides Sherando High, Frederick County Public Schools also operates Millbrook High (1,550 students), James Wood High (1,462 students), and James Wood Middle (873 students). See the Frederick County 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.