Enrollment
1,847
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010180000629
Virgil Grissom High School — Huntsville, AL
Federal NCES profile for Virgil Grissom High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 16
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 8
📋 Attendance 38
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: Huntsville 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)
94.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Virgil Grissom 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
Virgil Grissom High School reports 1,847 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 94.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% above the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 32% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the Alabama average and 20% below the national baseline. The school offers 25 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 462 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Huntsville City spends $13,040 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 43.6% from local sources (property taxes), 39.2% from the state, and 17.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), 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 Virgil Grissom 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 | 21:1 | ▲ 18% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.3% | ▼ 30% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,847 | 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
41.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21:1
students per teacher
— 18% above state mean
Top 92% in Alabama — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
24.7%
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
$13,040
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 462 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
68
in-school suspensions + 79 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 20 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,847 Top 99% in Alabama — larger than 1% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 94.0
Students per teacher 21:1 +18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.3% -30% vs state
NCES ID 010180000629
Student demographics
White 51.7%
Hispanic or Latino 20.8%
African American 17.4%
Two or More 6.5%
Asian 3.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 51.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 25
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 462:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.7%
In-school suspensions 68
Out-of-school suspensions 79
Expulsions 20
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Huntsville City, which includes Virgil Grissom High School.
$13,040
Per student
-10%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 43.6%
State 39.2%
Federal 17.2%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,807
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,152
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 935
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 916
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 877
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
Similar high schools in Huntsville
5 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Huntsville High School
Standard public school
1,807 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
Columbia High School
Standard public school
916 students 18:1 students per teacher
Lee High School
Standard public school
877 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Jemison High School
Standard public school
858 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
New Century Technology High School
Standard public school
366 students 14.9:1 students per teacher
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 Virgil Grissom High School
How many students attend Virgil Grissom High School?
Virgil Grissom High School has 1,847 students enrolled. It is a high school in Huntsville, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Virgil Grissom High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Virgil Grissom High School is 21:1, which is 18% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 32% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Virgil Grissom High School?
41.3% of students at Virgil Grissom High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Virgil Grissom High School?
The largest demographic group at Virgil Grissom High School is White at 51.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Huntsville, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Virgil Grissom High School?
Virgil Grissom High School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.