Enrollment
631
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lester, AL
Sugar Creek Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Sugar Creek Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010210000805
👥 S:T ratio 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sugar Creek Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Alabama schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.7:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 56.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 631
- students enrolled
Sugar Creek Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 86% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Limestone County · Alabama
NCES ID 010210000805 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.7:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.8%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sugar Creek Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sugar Creek Elementary School
Sugar Creek Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Lester, Alabama, enrolling 631 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 14.7:1, Sugar Creek Elementary School is leaner than roughly 86% of Alabama schools and 17% under the state's 17.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 56.8% lands close to the Alabama typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 631 puts it in the larger third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 449 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #153.
Its student body is led by White (72%) and Hispanic or Latino (19%) (diversity index 44/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 631 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Limestone County spends $8,021 per pupil, 36% below the Alabama average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Among Lester's public schools, it stands alongside West Limestone High School (736 students): Sugar Creek Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.7:1 vs 19.9:1).
Limestone County also operates Alabama Connections Academy (7,822 students) and East Limestone High School (1,216 students) alongside Sugar Creek 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 Sugar Creek Elementary School compares
Sugar Creek Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.7:1 | ▼ 17% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.8% | ▼ 3% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 631 | top 27% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.7:1
Leaner classes than 50% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
631
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
56.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 3% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.7:1
students per teacher
- 17% below state mean
Top 14% in Alabama - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
20.9%
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
$8,021
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
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 631 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.2 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 71.8%
Hispanic or Latino 19.0%
Two or More 6.5%
African American 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 71.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 44.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 44.4, Sugar Creek Elementary School is about as mixed as the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Limestone County, which includes Sugar Creek Elementary School.
$8,021
Per student
-36%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-52%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.4%
State 61.6%
Federal 11.1%
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 Sugar Creek Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Connections Academy | Larger | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| East Limestone High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Ardmore High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Limestone High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Elkmont Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sugar Creek Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 7,822
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 1,216
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 964
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 736
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 599
- Students per teacher
- 25:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
Similar other schools in Lester
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 Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~631 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sugar Creek Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Sugar Creek Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Limestone County'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 Sugar Creek Elementary School
How many students attend Sugar Creek Elementary School?
Sugar Creek Elementary School has 631 students enrolled. It is a public school in Lester, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sugar Creek Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sugar Creek Elementary School is 14.7:1, which is 17% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 6% 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 Sugar Creek Elementary School?
56.8% of students at Sugar Creek Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sugar Creek Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Sugar Creek Elementary School is White at 71.8% of enrollment, in Lester, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sugar Creek Elementary School?
Sugar Creek Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Sugar Creek Elementary School a good school?
Sugar Creek Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Alabama 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 Limestone County?
Besides Sugar Creek Elementary School, Limestone County also operates Alabama Connections Academy (7,822 students), East Limestone High School (1,216 students), and Ardmore High School (964 students). See the Limestone County 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.