Enrollment
235
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Pinnacle, NC
Shoals Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Shoals Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370441001756
👥 S:T ratio 53
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 53
📋 Attendance 14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shoals Elementary earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of North Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most North Carolina schools.
- 47
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.8:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 47.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 235
- students enrolled
Shoals Elementary has class sizes smaller than 88% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Surry County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370441001756 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.8:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.3%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shoals Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shoals Elementary
Shoals Elementary is a small combined-grade school in Pinnacle, North Carolina, enrolling 235 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.8:1, Shoals Elementary is leaner than roughly 88% of North Carolina schools and 25% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 47.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 235 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 154 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #91.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 21/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 235 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 24.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Pinnacle's public schools, it stands alongside Pinnacle Elementary School (162 students): Shoals Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.8:1 vs 14.7:1).
Surry County Schools also operates North Surry High (792 students) and Surry Central High (679 students) alongside Shoals 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 Shoals Elementary compares
Shoals 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 | 11.8:1 | ▼ 25% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.3% | ▼ 28% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 235 | top 85% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.8:1
Leaner classes than 77% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
235
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
47.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 28% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.8:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 12% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
34.5%
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
$12,638
per pupil, district-wide
- above 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 235 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 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 88.5%
Two or More 5.5%
Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
African American 1.3%
Largest group: White at 88.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 21.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 21.1, Shoals 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 Surry County Schools, which includes Shoals Elementary.
$12,638
Per student
+5%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 15.6%
State 60.1%
Federal 24.3%
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 Shoals Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Surry High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Surry Central High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Surry High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Central Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Franklin Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Shoals Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 792
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 679
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 576
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 502
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 473
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar other schools in Pinnacle
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other 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 (~235 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shoals Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Shoals Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Surry 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 Shoals Elementary
How many students attend Shoals Elementary?
Shoals Elementary has 235 students enrolled. It is a public school in Pinnacle, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shoals Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Shoals Elementary is 11.8:1, which is 25% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 25% 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 Shoals Elementary?
47.3% of students at Shoals Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shoals Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Shoals Elementary is White at 88.5% of enrollment, in Pinnacle, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shoals Elementary?
Shoals Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Shoals Elementary a good school?
Shoals Elementary earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 88% of North Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Surry County Schools?
Besides Shoals Elementary, Surry County Schools also operates North Surry High (792 students), Surry Central High (679 students), and East Surry High (576 students). See the Surry 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.