Other / mixed grade configuration · Saint Marys, GA

Sugarmill Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Sugarmill Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 130078001941
0/100100/10041/100
👥 S:T ratio
41
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
54
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Sugarmill Elementary earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median.

#2 of 4
schools in Saint Marys · Resource Index
41
Resource Index · Typical
14.8:1
students per teacher
30.5%
free-lunch eligible

Sugarmill Elementary has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Sugarmill Elementary ranks #2 of 4 schools in Saint Marys, GA.

School address

Enrollment

651

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

44.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.8:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

+3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

30.5%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

-50% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Sugarmill Elementary compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Sugarmill Elementary

Sugarmill Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Saint Marys, Georgia, enrolling 651 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 14.8:1 puts it in the larger third of Georgia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 30.5% of students eligible for free meals.

With 651 students, its enrollment sits close to the Georgia median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,314 scored Georgia schools.

Against 345 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #244.

Its student body is led by White (58%) and African American (17%) (diversity index 61/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 651 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Saint Marys's public schools, it stands alongside Saint Marys Elementary School (623 students): Sugarmill Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.8:1 vs 14.8:1).

Camden County also operates Camden County High School (2,912 students) and Camden Middle School (1,078 students) alongside Sugarmill 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 Sugarmill Elementary compares

Sugarmill Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Georgia Georgia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 14.8:1 ▲ 3% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 30.5% ▼ 50% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 651 top 47% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

14.8:1
Leaner classes than 49% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
651
Bigger than 77% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
30.5%
free-lunch eligible - 50% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.8:1
students per teacher - 3% above state mean
Top 61% in Georgia - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
18.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$11,637
per pupil, district-wide - below Georgia avg of $13,863
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 651 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
25
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.8 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 57.6%
African American 17.2%
Hispanic or Latino 14.6%
Two or More 8.8%
Asian 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: White at 57.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 60.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 60.9, Sugarmill Elementary is more mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Camden County, which includes Sugarmill Elementary.

$11,637
Per student
-16%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.1%
State 53.3%
Federal 12.6%

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.

How Sugarmill Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Camden County High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Camden Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Saint Marys Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Matilda Harris Elementary School Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Saint Marys Elementary School Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Sugarmill Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Camden County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Saint Marys

3 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Georgia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Sugarmill Elementary's federal record.

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 Sugarmill Elementary

How many students attend Sugarmill Elementary?

Sugarmill Elementary has 651 students enrolled. It is a public school in Saint Marys, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Sugarmill Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Sugarmill Elementary is 14.8:1, which is 3% higher than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 6% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sugarmill Elementary?

30.5% of students at Sugarmill Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sugarmill Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Sugarmill Elementary is White at 57.6% of enrollment, in Saint Marys, GA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.9/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Sugarmill Elementary?

Sugarmill Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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).

How does Sugarmill Elementary rank among schools in Saint Marys?

By Resource Investment Index, Sugarmill Elementary ranks #2 of 4 schools in Saint Marys, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Saint Marys on the city page.

Is Sugarmill Elementary a good school?

Sugarmill Elementary earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. 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 Camden County?

Besides Sugarmill Elementary, Camden County also operates Camden County High School (2,912 students), Camden Middle School (1,078 students), and Saint Marys Middle School (1,077 students). See the Camden County district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.