Enrollment
194
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Elizabethton, TN
Unaka Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Unaka Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 470051000166
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Unaka Elementary earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Tennessee schools.
- #4 of 7
- schools in Elizabethton · Resource Index
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.9:1
- small classes for Tennessee
- 194
- students enrolled
Unaka Elementary has class sizes smaller than 76% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Unaka Elementary ranks #4 of 7 schools in Elizabethton, TN.
School address
District: Carter County · Tennessee
NCES ID 470051000166 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Unaka Elementary compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Unaka Elementary
Unaka Elementary is a small combined-grade school in Elizabethton, Tennessee, enrolling 194 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of Tennessee schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 194 puts it in the smaller third of Tennessee schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 14/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 194 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 22.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 5 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Elizabethton's public schools, it stands alongside Hunter Elementary (498 students): Unaka Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.9:1 vs 16.1:1).
Carter County also operates Hampton Elementary (662 students) and Happy Valley Elementary (506 students) alongside Unaka 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 Unaka Elementary compares
Unaka Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 16% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 194 | top 89% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
194
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 24% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
27.3%
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
$11,253
per pupil, district-wide
- above Tennessee avg of $10,822
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 194 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
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 92.8%
Two or More 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 92.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.7, Unaka Elementary is less mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Carter County, which includes Unaka Elementary.
$11,253
Per student
+4%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 54.9%
Federal 22.9%
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 Unaka Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Happy Valley Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hunter Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Happy Valley High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hampton High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Unaka Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 662
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 506
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 498
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 449
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
Similar other schools in Elizabethton
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Hunter Elementary
Standard public school
498 students 16.1:1 students per teacher
East Side Elementary
Standard public school
465 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
Keenburg Elementary
Standard public school
212 students 12.5:1 students per teacher
Valley Forge Elementary
Standard public school
186 students 11.6:1 students per teacher
Carter County Online Academy
Standard public school
123 students 12.3:1 students per teacher
Siam Learning Center
Alternative education program
61 students 30.5:1 students per teacher
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~194 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Unaka Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Unaka Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Carter 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 Unaka Elementary
How many students attend Unaka Elementary?
Unaka Elementary has 194 students enrolled. It is a public school in Elizabethton, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Unaka Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Unaka Elementary is 12.9:1, which is 16% lower than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Unaka Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Unaka Elementary is White at 92.8% of enrollment, in Elizabethton, TN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Unaka Elementary?
Unaka Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Unaka Elementary rank among schools in Elizabethton?
By Resource Investment Index, Unaka Elementary ranks #4 of 7 schools in Elizabethton, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Elizabethton on the city page.
Is Unaka Elementary a good school?
Unaka Elementary earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 76% of Tennessee 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 Carter County?
Besides Unaka Elementary, Carter County also operates Hampton Elementary (662 students), Happy Valley Elementary (506 students), and Hunter Elementary (498 students). See the Carter 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.