Enrollment
345
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sugar Grove, NC
Valle Crucis Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Valle Crucis Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370483001941
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 Attendance 54
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Valle Crucis Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of North Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most North Carolina schools.
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.5:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 38.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 345
- students enrolled
Valle Crucis Elementary has class sizes smaller than 90% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Watauga County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370483001941 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
38.0%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valle Crucis Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Valle Crucis Elementary
Valle Crucis Elementary is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sugar Grove, North Carolina, enrolling 345 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.5:1, Valle Crucis Elementary is leaner than roughly 90% of North Carolina schools and 27% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 38.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 345 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 228 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #54.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 30/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 345 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 18.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 15.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Sugar Grove's public schools, it stands alongside Bethel Elementary (128 students): Valle Crucis Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (11.5:1 vs 7.5:1).
Watauga County Schools also operates Watauga High (1,289 students) and Hardin Park Elementary (854 students) alongside Valle Crucis 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 Valle Crucis Elementary compares
Valle Crucis Elementary on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 27% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 38.0% | ▼ 42% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 345 | top 72% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
345
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
38.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 42% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 27% below state mean
Top 10% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
18.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,698
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Carolina avg of $12,017
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 345 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 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 82.6%
Hispanic or Latino 13.9%
Two or More 1.7%
African American 1.2%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 82.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.8, Valle Crucis Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Watauga County Schools, which includes Valle Crucis Elementary.
$12,698
Per student
+6%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.9%
State 56.5%
Federal 15.6%
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 Valle Crucis Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watauga High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hardin Park Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Parkway Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Blowing Rock Elementary | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Green Valley Elementary | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Valle Crucis Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,289
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 854
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
- Enrollment
- 610
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 409
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 292
- Students per teacher
- 9.7:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
Similar other schools in Sugar Grove
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 North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~345 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Valle Crucis Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Valle Crucis Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Watauga County Schools'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 Valle Crucis Elementary
How many students attend Valle Crucis Elementary?
Valle Crucis Elementary has 345 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sugar Grove, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valle Crucis Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Valle Crucis Elementary is 11.5:1, which is 27% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 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 Valle Crucis Elementary?
38.0% of students at Valle Crucis Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valle Crucis Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Valle Crucis Elementary is White at 82.6% of enrollment, in Sugar Grove, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valle Crucis Elementary?
Valle Crucis Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher 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).
Is Valle Crucis Elementary a good school?
Valle Crucis Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of North Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most North Carolina 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 Watauga County Schools?
Besides Valle Crucis Elementary, Watauga County Schools also operates Watauga High (1,289 students), Hardin Park Elementary (854 students), and Parkway Elementary (610 students). See the Watauga County Schools 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.