Enrollment
337
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Spindale, NC
Spindale Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Spindale Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370408001653
👥 S:T ratio 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 33
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Spindale Elementary School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of North Carolina schools.
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.5:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 99.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 337
- students enrolled
Spindale Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 72% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Rutherford County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370408001653 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.5:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.1%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
+50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Spindale Elementary School compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Spindale Elementary School
Spindale Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Spindale, North Carolina, enrolling 337 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 99.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 337 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 407 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #238.
Its student body is led by White (50%) and African American (29%) (diversity index 65/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 337 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 44.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 24.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Rutherford County Schools also operates R-S Central High School (763 students) and East Rutherford High School (623 students) alongside Spindale 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 Spindale Elementary School compares
Spindale Elementary School 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 | 13.5:1 | ▼ 15% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.1% | ▲ 50% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 337 | top 73% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.5:1
Leaner classes than 62% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
337
Bigger than 38% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 50% above 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
13.5:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 28% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
44.2%
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
$14,170
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 337 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
24
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.3 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 49.9%
African American 28.5%
Hispanic or Latino 11.6%
Two or More 10.1%
Largest group: White at 49.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 64.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 64.6, Spindale Elementary School is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rutherford County Schools, which includes Spindale Elementary School.
$14,170
Per student
+18%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.0%
State 53.8%
Federal 24.2%
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 Spindale Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-S Central High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| East Rutherford High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Chase High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Ellenboro Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| R-S Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Spindale Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 763
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 623
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 596
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 567
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 561
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
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 (~337 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Spindale Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Spindale Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Rutherford 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 Spindale Elementary School
How many students attend Spindale Elementary School?
Spindale Elementary School has 337 students enrolled. It is a public school in Spindale, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spindale Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Spindale Elementary School is 13.5:1, which is 15% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 14% 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 Spindale Elementary School?
99.1% of students at Spindale Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Spindale Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Spindale Elementary School is White at 49.9% of enrollment, in Spindale, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 64.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Spindale Elementary School?
Spindale Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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 Spindale Elementary School a good school?
Spindale Elementary School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% 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 Rutherford County Schools?
Besides Spindale Elementary School, Rutherford County Schools also operates R-S Central High School (763 students), East Rutherford High School (623 students), and Chase High School (596 students). See the Rutherford 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.