Enrollment
39
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sonora, KY
The Life Connection
Federal NCES profile for The Life Connection, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 71/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 210318002216
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 94
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
The Life Connection earns 71/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of Kentucky schools.
- 71
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13:1
- small classes for Kentucky
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 39
- students enrolled
The Life Connection has class sizes smaller than 75% of Kentucky schools. Computed live against every Kentucky school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 15.2:1 Kentucky avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
+69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How The Life Connection compares with Kentucky and U.S. medians
What stands out at The Life Connection
The Life Connection is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Sonora, Kentucky, enrolling 39 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kentucky schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 100.0% of students qualify for free meals, 69% above the Kentucky average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of Kentucky schools, with 39 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 1,389 Kentucky schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 20 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #4.
Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 31/100).
Attendance holds up well here: only 2.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 17.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Sonora's public schools, it stands alongside Creekside Elementary School (474 students): The Life Connection is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13:1 vs 16.3:1).
Larue County also operates Larue County High School (754 students) and Hodgenville Elementary School (533 students) alongside The Life Connection.
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 The Life Connection compares
The Life Connection on the metrics families compare, against Kentucky and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13:1 | ▼ 14% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 69% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 39 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
39
Bigger than 5% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 69% above the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
- 14% below state mean
Top 25% in Kentucky - lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
2.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$11,984
per pupil, district-wide
- below Kentucky avg of $13,211
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 82.1%
African American 12.8%
Two or More 5.1%
Largest group: White at 82.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 30.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 30.7, The Life Connection is less mixed than the Kentucky school average of 34.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Larue County, which includes The Life Connection.
$11,984
Per student
-9%
vs Kentucky
Avg $13,211
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.3%
State 63.7%
Federal 17.0%
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 The Life Connection Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larue County High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hodgenville Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Larue County Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Abraham Lincoln Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Preschool on College Street | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to The Life Connection's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 754
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 533
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 522
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 482
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 118
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
Similar other schools in Sonora
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 Kentucky, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~39 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on The Life Connection's federal record.
- Compare The Life Connection against another school. Compare schools
- Larue 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 The Life Connection
How many students attend The Life Connection?
The Life Connection has 39 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Sonora, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Life Connection?
The student-teacher ratio at The Life Connection is 13:1, which is 14% lower than the Kentucky average of 15.2:1 and 17% 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 The Life Connection?
100.0% of students at The Life Connection are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of The Life Connection?
The largest demographic group at The Life Connection is White at 82.1% of enrollment, in Sonora, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for The Life Connection?
The Life Connection has a Resource Investment Index of 71/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is The Life Connection a good school?
The Life Connection earns 71/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of Kentucky 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 Larue County?
Besides The Life Connection, Larue County also operates Larue County High School (754 students), Hodgenville Elementary School (533 students), and Larue County Middle School (522 students). See the Larue 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.