Enrollment
517
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Valley Head, AL
Valley Head High School
Federal NCES profile for Valley Head High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010114000425
👥 S:T ratio 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Valley Head High School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Alabama schools.
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.8:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 62.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 517
- students enrolled
Valley Head High School has class sizes smaller than 85% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Dekalb County · Alabama
NCES ID 010114000425 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.8:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
62.6%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valley Head High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Valley Head High School
Valley Head High School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Valley Head, Alabama, enrolling 517 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 14.8:1, Valley Head High School is leaner than roughly 85% of Alabama schools and 16% under the state's 17.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 62.6% lands close to the Alabama typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 517 students, its enrollment sits close to the Alabama median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 453 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #237.
Its student body is led by White (67%) and Hispanic or Latino (25%) (diversity index 49/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 517 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 20.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Dekalb County also operates Geraldine School (1,211 students) and Plainview School (1,167 students) alongside Valley Head High 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 Head High School compares
Valley Head High School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.8:1 | ▼ 16% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 62.6% | ▲ 6% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 517 | top 42% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.8:1
Leaner classes than 49% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
517
Bigger than 64% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
62.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 6% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.8:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 15% in Alabama - lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
25.0%
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
$11,829
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
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 517 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
12
in-school suspensions + 16 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.4 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 66.5%
Hispanic or Latino 25.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 5.8%
Two or More 2.1%
African American 0.6%
Largest group: White at 66.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 49.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 49.1, Valley Head High School is more mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dekalb County, which includes Valley Head High School.
$11,829
Per student
-5%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.0%
State 61.4%
Federal 20.6%
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 Valley Head High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geraldine School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Plainview School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Fyffe High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sylvania School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Collinsville High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Valley Head High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,211
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,167
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 954
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 915
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 906
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~517 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Valley Head High School's federal record.
- Compare Valley Head High School against another school. Compare schools
- Dekalb 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 Valley Head High School
How many students attend Valley Head High School?
Valley Head High School has 517 students enrolled. It is a public school in Valley Head, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valley Head High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Valley Head High School is 14.8:1, which is 16% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 6% 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 Head High School?
62.6% of students at Valley Head High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valley Head High School?
The largest demographic group at Valley Head High School is White at 66.5% of enrollment, in Valley Head, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valley Head High School?
Valley Head High School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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 Head High School a good school?
Valley Head High School earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Alabama 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 Dekalb County?
Besides Valley Head High School, Dekalb County also operates Geraldine School (1,211 students), Plainview School (1,167 students), and Fyffe High School (954 students). See the Dekalb 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.