Enrollment
1,625
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010343001304
Vestavia Hills High School — Vestavia Hills, AL
Federal NCES profile for Vestavia Hills High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 67/100.
👥 Class size 45
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 65
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: Vestavia Hills City · 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)
114.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
8.7%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-85% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Vestavia Hills High 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
Vestavia Hills High School reports 1,625 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 114.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% 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 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 8.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 85% below the Alabama average and 83% below the national baseline. The school offers 37 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 232 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Vestavia Hills City spends $15,310 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.1% from local sources (property taxes), 42.8% from the state, and 5.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 67/100 (B-), 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 Vestavia Hills High 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 | 13.8:1 | ▼ 22% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 8.7% | ▼ 85% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,625 | top 99% | — | — |
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
8.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 85% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
— 22% below state mean
Top 6% in Alabama — lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
14.1%
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
$15,310
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 232 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
50
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,625 Top 99% in Alabama — larger than 1% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 114.0
Students per teacher 13.8:1 -22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 8.7% -85% vs state
NCES ID 010343001304
Student demographics
White 81.7%
Asian 6.9%
African American 4.4%
Hispanic or Latino 4.3%
Two or More 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 81.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 37
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 232:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.1%
In-school suspensions 50
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Vestavia Hills City, which includes Vestavia Hills High School.
$15,310
Per student
+6%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.1%
State 42.8%
Federal 5.1%
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
- 1,131
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 691
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 657
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 548
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
Similar high schools in Vestavia Hills
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Vestavia Hills High School
How many students attend Vestavia Hills High School?
Vestavia Hills High School has 1,625 students enrolled. It is a high school in Vestavia Hills, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vestavia Hills High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Vestavia Hills High School is 13.8:1, which is 22% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 13% 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 Vestavia Hills High School?
8.7% of students at Vestavia Hills High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Vestavia Hills High School?
The largest demographic group at Vestavia Hills High School is White at 81.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Vestavia Hills, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Vestavia Hills High School?
Vestavia Hills High School has a Resource Investment Index of 67/100 (B-) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.