Enrollment
277
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010195000757
Vernon Elementary School — Vernon, AL
Federal NCES profile for Vernon Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 48
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: Lamar 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)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Vernon 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
Vernon Elementary School reports 277 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 63.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 8% above the Alabama average and 22% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 554 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lamar County spends $12,261 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.0% from local sources (property taxes), 65.7% 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 39/100 (F), 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 Vernon 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 | 15.4:1 | ▼ 13% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.3% | ▲ 8% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 277 | top 16% | — | — |
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
63.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 8% 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
15.4:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 16% in Alabama — lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,261
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
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 554 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 277 Top 16% in Alabama — larger than 84% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 15.4:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 63.3% +8% vs state
NCES ID 010195000757
Student demographics
White 78.7%
African American 13.0%
Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
Two or More 3.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 78.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 554:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lamar County, which includes Vernon Elementary School.
$12,261
Per student
-15%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.0%
State 65.7%
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
- 684
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 624
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 544
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
Similar other schools in Vernon
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Vernon Elementary School
How many students attend Vernon Elementary School?
Vernon Elementary School has 277 students enrolled. It is a other school in Vernon, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vernon Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Vernon Elementary School is 15.4:1, which is 13% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% lower 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 Vernon Elementary School?
63.3% of students at Vernon Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vernon Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Vernon Elementary School is White at 78.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Vernon, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Vernon Elementary School?
Vernon Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.