Enrollment
564
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 510408001792
Union High — Big Stone Gap, VA
Federal NCES profile for Union High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 37
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 53
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: Wise County Public Schools · Virginia
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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.5%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
+43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Union High compares with Virginia 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
Union High reports 564 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 85.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% above the Virginia average and 65% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 282 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Wise County Public Schools spends $13,544 per pupil district-wide, below the Virginia average of $16,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.2% from local sources (property taxes), 57.1% from the state, and 19.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Union High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▲ 13% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.5% | ▲ 43% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 564 | top 51% | — | — |
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
85.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% above the Virginia average of 59.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 13% above state mean
Top 81% in Virginia — lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.0%
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
$13,544
per pupil, district-wide
— below Virginia avg of $16,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 282 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
73
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 8 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 564 Top 51% in Virginia — larger than 49% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 +13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 85.5% +43% vs state
NCES ID 510408001792
Student demographics
White 90.8%
African American 4.3%
Two or More 2.8%
Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
Largest group: White at 90.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 282:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.0%
In-school suspensions 73
Out-of-school suspensions 26
Expulsions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wise County Public Schools, which includes Union High.
$13,544
Per student
-16%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.2%
State 57.1%
Federal 19.7%
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
- 809
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 676
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 603
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 561
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Enrollment
- 523
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
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 Union High
How many students attend Union High?
Union High has 564 students enrolled. It is a high school in Big Stone Gap, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Union High?
The student-teacher ratio at Union High is 15.8:1, which is 13% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Union High?
85.5% of students at Union High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union High?
The largest demographic group at Union High is White at 90.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Big Stone Gap, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Union High?
Union High has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) based on 5 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.