Enrollment
343
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010201000773
Underwood Elementary School — Florence, AL
Federal NCES profile for Underwood Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 Attendance 70
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Lauderdale County · Alabama
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.7%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Underwood Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Underwood Elementary School reports 343 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 47.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the Alabama average and 8% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 343 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 12.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lauderdale County spends $12,691 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.4% from local sources (property taxes), 60.3% from the state, and 14.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Underwood Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.7% | ▼ 19% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 343 | top 25% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
47.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% 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
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 27% in Alabama — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
12.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$12,691
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 343 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 343 Top 25% in Alabama — larger than 75% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 47.7% -19% vs state
NCES ID 010201000773
Student demographics
White 90.4%
African American 3.8%
Two or More 3.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.5%
Hispanic or Latino 0.6%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 90.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 343:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 12.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lauderdale County, which includes Underwood Elementary School.
$12,691
Per student
-12%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.4%
State 60.3%
Federal 14.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 874
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 746
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 729
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 713
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 596
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
Similar other schools in Florence
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Forest Hills School
Standard public school
906 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Central High School
Standard public school
596 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Rogers Elementary School
Standard public school
592 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Wilson High School
Standard public school
585 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
Wilson Elementary School
Standard public school
552 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Rogers High School
Standard public school
510 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Underwood Elementary School
How many students attend Underwood Elementary School?
Underwood Elementary School has 343 students enrolled. It is a other school in Florence, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Underwood Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Underwood Elementary School is 16.3:1, which is 8% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Underwood Elementary School?
47.7% of students at Underwood Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Underwood Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Underwood Elementary School is White at 90.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Florence, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Underwood Elementary School?
Underwood Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.