Middle school (grades 6-8) · Covington, GA

Veterans Memorial Middle School

Federal NCES profile for Veterans Memorial Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 130393002424
0/100100/10044/100
👥 S:T ratio
47
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
36
📋 Attendance
23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Veterans Memorial Middle School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median.

#1 of 5
middle schools in Covington · Resource Index
44
Resource Index · Typical
13.3:1
students per teacher
84.9%
free-lunch eligible

Veterans Memorial Middle School has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Veterans Memorial Middle School ranks #1 of 5 middle schools in Covington, GA.

School address

Enrollment

637

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

48.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.3:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

-8% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

84.9%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

+40% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Veterans Memorial Middle School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Veterans Memorial Middle School

Veterans Memorial Middle School is a high-poverty, mid-sized middle school in Covington, Georgia, enrolling 637 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Georgia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 84.9% of students eligible for free meals.

With 637 students, its enrollment sits close to the Georgia median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,314 scored Georgia schools.

Against 415 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #103.

Its student body is led by African American (71%) and Hispanic or Latino (14%) (diversity index 46/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 319 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 16.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 204 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 637 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 17 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Covington's middle schools, it stands alongside Liberty Middle School (894 students): Veterans Memorial Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.3:1 vs 17.2:1).

Newton County also operates Newton High School (2,499 students) and Alcovy High School (1,968 students) alongside Veterans Memorial Middle 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 Veterans Memorial Middle School compares

Veterans Memorial Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Georgia Georgia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.3:1 ▼ 8% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 84.9% ▲ 40% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 637 top 49% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.3:1
Leaner classes than 64% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
637
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
84.9%
free-lunch eligible - 40% above the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.3:1
students per teacher - 8% below state mean
Top 37% in Georgia - lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
30.8%
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
$12,938
per pupil, district-wide - below Georgia avg of $13,863
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 319 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
79
in-school suspensions + 125 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 32.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 17 expulsions.

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

African American 71.1%
Hispanic or Latino 14.4%
White 8.8%
Two or More 4.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: African American at 71.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 46.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 46.4, Veterans Memorial Middle School is less mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Newton County, which includes Veterans Memorial Middle School.

$12,938
Per student
-7%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.3%
State 48.6%
Federal 16.2%

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 Veterans Memorial Middle School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Newton High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Alcovy High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Eastside High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Newton County Theme School at Ficquett Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Live Oak Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Veterans Memorial Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Newton County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Covington

4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Georgia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Veterans Memorial Middle School's federal record.

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 Veterans Memorial Middle School

How many students attend Veterans Memorial Middle School?

Veterans Memorial Middle School has 637 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Covington, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Veterans Memorial Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at Veterans Memorial Middle School is 13.3:1, which is 8% lower than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 15% 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 Veterans Memorial Middle School?

84.9% of students at Veterans Memorial Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Veterans Memorial Middle School?

The largest demographic group at Veterans Memorial Middle School is African American at 71.1% of enrollment, in Covington, GA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Veterans Memorial Middle School?

Veterans Memorial Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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).

How does Veterans Memorial Middle School rank among middle schools in Covington?

By Resource Investment Index, Veterans Memorial Middle School ranks #1 of 5 middle schools in Covington, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Covington on the city page.

Is Veterans Memorial Middle School a good school?

Veterans Memorial Middle School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. 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 Newton County?

Besides Veterans Memorial Middle School, Newton County also operates Newton High School (2,499 students), Alcovy High School (1,968 students), and Eastside High School (1,590 students). See the Newton County district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.