Enrollment
490
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Hiawassee, GA
Towns County Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Towns County Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 130507002997
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 Attendance 54
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Towns County Elementary School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Georgia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Georgia schools.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Hiawassee · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.4:1
- small classes for Georgia
- 57.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Towns County Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 86% of Georgia schools. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Towns County Elementary School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Hiawassee, GA.
School address
District: Towns County · Georgia
NCES ID 130507002997 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.4:1
vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.0%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Towns County Elementary School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Towns County Elementary School
Towns County Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Hiawassee, Georgia, enrolling 490 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.4:1, Towns County Elementary School is leaner than roughly 86% of Georgia schools and 21% under the state's 14.4:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 57.0% lands close to the Georgia typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 490 puts it in the smaller third of Georgia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,314 scored Georgia schools.
Against 323 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #93.
Its student body is predominantly White (87% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 25/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 490 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.
The surrounding Towns County spends $17,231 per pupil, 24% above the Georgia average, a better-resourced district than most.
Towns County also operates Towns County High School (279 students) and Towns County Middle School (197 students) alongside Towns County 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 Towns County Elementary School compares
Towns County Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.4:1 | ▼ 21% | 14.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.0% | ▼ 6% | 60.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 490 | top 70% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.4:1
Leaner classes than 80% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
490
Bigger than 60% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 6% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.4:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 14% in Georgia - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
18.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$17,231
per pupil, district-wide
- above Georgia avg of $13,863
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 490 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.4 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 86.5%
Hispanic or Latino 5.7%
Two or More 5.3%
Asian 2.0%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 86.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.5, Towns County Elementary School is less mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Towns County, which includes Towns County Elementary School.
$17,231
Per student
+24%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 59.9%
State 25.3%
Federal 14.8%
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 Towns County Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Towns County High School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Towns County Middle School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Towns County Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 279
- Students per teacher
- 11.2:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 197
- Students per teacher
- 9.4:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~490 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Towns County Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Towns County Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Towns 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 Towns County Elementary School
How many students attend Towns County Elementary School?
Towns County Elementary School has 490 students enrolled. It is a public school in Hiawassee, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Towns County Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Towns County Elementary School is 11.4:1, which is 21% lower than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 27% 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 Towns County Elementary School?
57.0% of students at Towns County Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Towns County Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Towns County Elementary School is White at 86.5% of enrollment, in Hiawassee, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Towns County Elementary School?
Towns County Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Towns County Elementary School rank among public schools in Hiawassee?
By Resource Investment Index, Towns County Elementary School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Hiawassee, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Hiawassee on the city page.
Is Towns County Elementary School a good school?
Towns County Elementary School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Georgia schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Georgia 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 Towns County?
Besides Towns County Elementary School, Towns County also operates Towns County High School (279 students) and Towns County Middle School (197 students). See the Towns 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.