Other / mixed grade configuration · Augusta, GA

Wheeless Road Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Wheeless Road Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 130438004342
0/100100/10027/100
👥 S:T ratio
30
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
9
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Wheeless Road Elementary School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Georgia schools.

#29 of 29
schools in Augusta · Resource Index
27
Resource Index · Lower
17.5:1
large classes for Georgia
98.0%
free-lunch eligible

Wheeless Road Elementary School has class sizes larger than 88% of Georgia schools. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Wheeless Road Elementary School ranks #29 of 29 schools in Augusta, GA.

School address

Enrollment

649

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

37.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.5:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

+22% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

98.0%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

+61% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Wheeless Road Elementary School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 Wheeless Road Elementary School

Wheeless Road Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Augusta, Georgia, enrolling 649 students.

Class loads run heavy: 17.5:1 is larger than about 88% of Georgia schools and 22% above the 14.4:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 98.0% of students eligible for free meals.

With 649 students, its enrollment sits close to the Georgia median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 97% of the 2,314 Georgia schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 466 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Georgia schools statewide, it ranks #432, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly African American (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 649 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 36.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 24.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Augusta's public schools, it stands alongside Davidson Magnet School (747 students): Wheeless Road Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (17.5:1 vs 16.6:1).

Richmond County also operates Academy of Richmond County High School (1,178 students) and Cross Creek High School (1,152 students) alongside Wheeless Road Elementary 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 Wheeless Road Elementary School compares

Wheeless Road Elementary 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 17.5:1 ▲ 22% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 98.0% ▲ 61% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 649 top 48% - -

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

17.5:1
Leaner classes than 27% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
649
Bigger than 77% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
98.0%
free-lunch eligible - 61% 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
17.5:1
students per teacher - 22% above state mean
Top 88% in Georgia - lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
36.2%
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
$14,096
per pupil, district-wide - above Georgia avg of $13,863
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 649 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

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 86.0%
Hispanic or Latino 6.5%
White 3.7%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: African American at 86.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 25.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 25.4, Wheeless Road Elementary School is less mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richmond County, which includes Wheeless Road Elementary School.

$14,096
Per student
+2%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.6%
State 40.0%
Federal 24.4%

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 Wheeless Road Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Academy of Richmond County High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Cross Creek High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Westside High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hephzibah High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Butler High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Wheeless Road Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Richmond County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Augusta

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other 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 Wheeless Road Elementary 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 Wheeless Road Elementary School

How many students attend Wheeless Road Elementary School?

Wheeless Road Elementary School has 649 students enrolled. It is a public school in Augusta, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Wheeless Road Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Wheeless Road Elementary School is 17.5:1, which is 22% higher than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 11% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wheeless Road Elementary School?

98.0% of students at Wheeless Road Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wheeless Road Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Wheeless Road Elementary School is African American at 86.0% of enrollment, in Augusta, GA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Wheeless Road Elementary School?

Wheeless Road Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower 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 Wheeless Road Elementary School rank among schools in Augusta?

By Resource Investment Index, Wheeless Road Elementary School ranks #29 of 29 schools in Augusta, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Augusta on the city page.

Is Wheeless Road Elementary School a good school?

Wheeless Road Elementary School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Georgia schools. 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 Richmond County?

Besides Wheeless Road Elementary School, Richmond County also operates Academy of Richmond County High School (1,178 students), Cross Creek High School (1,152 students), and Westside High School (1,088 students). See the Richmond 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.