Enrollment
384
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Valley Cottage, NY
Valley Cottage School
Federal NCES profile for Valley Cottage School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 362148003053
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 58
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Valley Cottage School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the New York median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most New York schools.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.7:1
- students per teacher
- 31.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 384
- students enrolled
Valley Cottage School has class sizes near the New York median. Computed live against every New York school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Nyack Union Free School District · New York
NCES ID 362148003053 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 11.8:1 New York avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.7%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valley Cottage School compares with New York and U.S. medians
What stands out at Valley Cottage School
Valley Cottage School is a mid-sized elementary school in Valley Cottage, New York, enrolling 384 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of New York schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 31.7% of students eligible for free meals.
With 384 students, its enrollment sits close to the New York median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 4,801 scored New York schools.
Against 825 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #384.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (37%) and White (34%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 71/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 384 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
16.9% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Nyack Union Free School District also operates Nyack Senior High School (945 students) and Nyack Middle School (644 students) alongside Valley Cottage 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 Valley Cottage School compares
Valley Cottage School on the metrics families compare, against New York and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 9% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.7% | ▼ 44% | 56.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 384 | top 58% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
384
Bigger than 45% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
31.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 44% below the New York average of 56.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 40% in New York - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
16.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$29,284
per pupil, district-wide
- above New York avg of $26,410
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 384 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 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
Hispanic or Latino 37.0%
White 34.4%
African American 16.7%
Asian 5.5%
Two or More 5.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 37.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 71.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 71.1, Valley Cottage School is more mixed than the New York school average of 45.5.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Nyack Union Free School District, which includes Valley Cottage School.
$29,284
Per student
+11%
vs New York
Avg $26,410
+76%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 71.5%
State 19.6%
Federal 8.9%
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 Valley Cottage School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyack Senior High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Nyack Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Liberty Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Upper Nyack School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Valley Cottage School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 945
- Students per teacher
- 10.5:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 644
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 452
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 395
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New York, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~384 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Valley Cottage School's federal record.
- Compare Valley Cottage School against another school. Compare schools
- Nyack Union Free School District'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 Valley Cottage School
How many students attend Valley Cottage School?
Valley Cottage School has 384 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Valley Cottage, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valley Cottage School?
The student-teacher ratio at Valley Cottage School is 10.7:1, which is 9% lower than the New York average of 11.8:1 and 32% 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 Valley Cottage School?
31.7% of students at Valley Cottage School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valley Cottage School?
The largest demographic group at Valley Cottage School is Hispanic or Latino at 37.0% of enrollment, in Valley Cottage, NY. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 71.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valley Cottage School?
Valley Cottage School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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).
Is Valley Cottage School a good school?
Valley Cottage School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the New York median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most New York 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 Nyack Union Free School District?
Besides Valley Cottage School, Nyack Union Free School District also operates Nyack Senior High School (945 students), Nyack Middle School (644 students), and Liberty Elementary School (452 students). See the Nyack Union Free School District 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.