Enrollment
546
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 130261001155
Wauka Mountain Elementary School — Gainesville, GA
Federal NCES profile for Wauka Mountain Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 61
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: Hall County · Georgia
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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
+7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.6%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wauka Mountain Elementary School compares with Georgia 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
Wauka Mountain Elementary School reports 546 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% above the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. 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: 22.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 63% below the Georgia average and 56% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 546 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hall County spends $15,070 per pupil district-wide, below the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 42.4% from local sources (property taxes), 42.9% from the state, and 14.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), 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 Wauka Mountain Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.5:1 | ▲ 7% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.6% | ▼ 63% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 546 | top 38% | — | — |
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
22.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 63% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
— 7% above state mean
Top 72% in Georgia — lower ratio than 28% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.6%
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
$15,070
per pupil, district-wide
— below Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 546 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 546 Top 38% in Georgia — larger than 62% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 15.5:1 +7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 22.6% -63% vs state
NCES ID 130261001155
Student demographics
White 83.5%
Hispanic or Latino 9.5%
Two or More 3.8%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 83.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 546:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.6%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hall County, which includes Wauka Mountain Elementary School.
$15,070
Per student
-4%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 42.4%
State 42.9%
Federal 14.7%
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
- 1,318
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,304
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,287
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,274
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,245
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
Similar other schools in Gainesville
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Chestatee Elementary
Standard public school
1,159 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
Mundy Mill Arts Academy
Standard public school
825 students 15.1:1 students per teacher
Chicopee Elementary School
Standard public school
809 students 13.5:1 students per teacher
Lyman Hall Elementary School
Standard public school
785 students 12:1 students per teacher
Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy
Standard public school
767 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Centennial Arts Academy
Standard public school
760 students 14.2:1 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 Wauka Mountain Elementary School
How many students attend Wauka Mountain Elementary School?
Wauka Mountain Elementary School has 546 students enrolled. It is a other school in Gainesville, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wauka Mountain Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wauka Mountain Elementary School is 15.5:1, which is 7% higher than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wauka Mountain Elementary School?
22.6% of students at Wauka Mountain Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wauka Mountain Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Wauka Mountain Elementary School is White at 83.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Gainesville, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wauka Mountain Elementary School?
Wauka Mountain Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) 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.