Enrollment
633
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 370069000288
Sherrills Ford Elementary — Sherrills Ford, NC
Federal NCES profile for Sherrills Ford Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 62
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: Catawba County Schools · North Carolina
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)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.6%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sherrills Ford Elementary compares with North Carolina 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
Sherrills Ford Elementary reports 633 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 32.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 2% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 57% below the North Carolina average and 45% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 633 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Catawba County Schools spends $12,509 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.3% from local sources (property taxes), 55.4% from the state, and 22.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Sherrills Ford Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North Carolina state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.2:1 | ▼ 1% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.6% | ▼ 57% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 633 | top 69% | — | — |
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
28.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 57% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 66% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 34% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$12,509
per pupil, district-wide
— below North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 633 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 633 Top 69% in North Carolina — larger than 31% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 32.0
Students per teacher 16.2:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.6% -57% vs state
NCES ID 370069000288
Student demographics
White 73.3%
Hispanic or Latino 11.2%
Two or More 7.7%
African American 6.0%
Asian 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 73.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 633:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.3%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Catawba County Schools, which includes Sherrills Ford Elementary.
$12,509
Per student
-4%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 55.4%
Federal 22.2%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,268
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 935
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 930
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 852
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 845
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
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 Sherrills Ford Elementary
How many students attend Sherrills Ford Elementary?
Sherrills Ford Elementary has 633 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Sherrills Ford, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sherrills Ford Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sherrills Ford Elementary is 16.2:1, which is 1% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 2% higher 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 Sherrills Ford Elementary?
28.6% of students at Sherrills Ford Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sherrills Ford Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sherrills Ford Elementary is White at 73.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sherrills Ford, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sherrills Ford Elementary?
Sherrills Ford Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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.