Enrollment
468
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 510186000785
Spotswood Elementary — Harrisonburg, VA
Federal NCES profile for Spotswood Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 53
📋 Attendance 48
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: Harrisonburg City Public Schools · Virginia
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)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
79.5%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
+33% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Spotswood Elementary compares with Virginia 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
Spotswood Elementary reports 468 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 39.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% below the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 79.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 33% above the Virginia average and 53% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 234 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Harrisonburg City Public Schools spends $22,050 per pupil district-wide, above the Virginia average of $16,211 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 66.5% from local sources (property taxes), 25.9% from the state, and 7.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), 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 Spotswood Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 18% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 79.5% | ▲ 33% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 468 | top 37% | — | — |
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
79.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 33% above the Virginia average of 59.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
— 18% below state mean
Top 14% in Virginia — lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
20.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$22,050
per pupil, district-wide
— above Virginia avg of $16,211
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 234 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
97
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 20.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 468 Top 37% in Virginia — larger than 63% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 39.0
Students per teacher 11.5:1 -18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 79.5% +33% vs state
NCES ID 510186000785
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 57.5%
White 25.9%
Two or More 7.7%
African American 7.3%
Asian 1.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 57.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 234:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.9%
In-school suspensions 97
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harrisonburg City Public Schools, which includes Spotswood Elementary.
$22,050
Per student
+36%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 66.5%
State 25.9%
Federal 7.6%
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
- 998
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Enrollment
- 738
- Students per teacher
- 11.1:1
- Enrollment
- 566
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 557
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
Similar other schools in Harrisonburg
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Waterman Elementary
Standard public school
557 students 12.3:1 students per teacher
Stone Spring Elementary
Standard public school
554 students 12.4:1 students per teacher
Smithland Elementary
Standard public school
514 students 14.3:1 students per teacher
Keister Elementary
Standard public school
475 students 13.8:1 students per teacher
Mountain View Elementary
Standard public school
411 students 14:1 students per teacher
Lacey Spring Elementary
Standard public school
350 students 12.7:1 students per teacher
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 Spotswood Elementary
How many students attend Spotswood Elementary?
Spotswood Elementary has 468 students enrolled. It is a other school in Harrisonburg, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spotswood Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Spotswood Elementary is 11.5:1, which is 18% lower than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 28% lower 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 Spotswood Elementary?
79.5% of students at Spotswood Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Spotswood Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Spotswood Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 57.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Harrisonburg, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Spotswood Elementary?
Spotswood Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) 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.