Enrollment
633
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Sherrills Ford, NC
Sherrills Ford Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Sherrills Ford Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 370069000288
👥 S:T ratio 21
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 62
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sherrills Ford Elementary earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of North Carolina schools.
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.8:1
- large classes for North Carolina
- 28.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 633
- students enrolled
Sherrills Ford Elementary has class sizes larger than 89% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Catawba County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370069000288 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.8:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
+25% 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
What stands out at Sherrills Ford Elementary
Sherrills Ford Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, enrolling 633 students.
Class loads run heavy: 19.8:1 is larger than about 89% of North Carolina schools and 25% above the 15.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 28.6% free-meal eligibility runs 57% below the North Carolina average.
Enrollment of 633 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 305 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #214.
Its student body is led by White (73%) and Hispanic or Latino (11%) (diversity index 44/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 633 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
15.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 22.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Catawba County Schools also operates Saint Stephens High (1,268 students) and Bandys High (935 students) alongside Sherrills Ford 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 Sherrills Ford Elementary compares
Sherrills Ford Elementary on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.8:1 | ▲ 25% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.6% | ▼ 57% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 633 | top 31% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.8:1
Leaner classes than 17% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
633
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
28.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 57% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.8:1
students per teacher
- 25% above state mean
Top 89% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$11,517
per pupil, district-wide
- below North Carolina avg of $12,017
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that 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
- 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 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.
Student-body diversity index 44.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 44.0, Sherrills Ford Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Catawba County Schools, which includes Sherrills Ford Elementary.
$11,517
Per student
-4%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
How Sherrills Ford Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Stephens High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bandys High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Fred T Foard High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Maiden High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Bunker Hill High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sherrills Ford Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,268
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 935
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 930
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 852
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 845
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~633 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sherrills Ford Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Sherrills Ford Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Catawba County 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 Sherrills Ford Elementary
How many students attend Sherrills Ford Elementary?
Sherrills Ford Elementary has 633 students enrolled. It is an 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 19.8:1, which is 25% higher than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 26% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
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% of enrollment, in Sherrills Ford, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sherrills Ford Elementary?
Sherrills Ford Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Sherrills Ford Elementary a good school?
Sherrills Ford Elementary earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of North Carolina 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 Catawba County Schools?
Besides Sherrills Ford Elementary, Catawba County Schools also operates Saint Stephens High (1,268 students), Bandys High (935 students), and Fred T Foard High (930 students). See the Catawba County 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.