NCES CCD 2024-25 15 schools NC

Best-Resourced Schools in Burlington, NC

15 public K-12 schools in Burlington from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

15
Schools
8,933
Students
34.9/100
Avg Resource Index
14.8:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Burlington has more public-school enrollment than 77% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Burlington's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

9 of Burlington's 15 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 39-point gap between Alamance Virtual School and Clover Garden shows the range hidden by Burlington's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 23%
School count
Top 23%
Resource Index average
25th percentile
Teacher staffing
57th percentile

Burlington school enrollment varies 5.9× across entities

Burlington school enrollment ranges from 203 students (lowest) to 1,206 students (highest), a spread of 1,003 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Burlington reports 73.6% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share sits between 62.5% and 75%, above a simple majority but below the highest descriptive band used here. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Burlington student-teacher ratio is 14.8:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Burlington is typically wider than the Burlington-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Burlington

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Highland Elementary 73.7/100
  2. 2 Walter M Williams High 72.7/100
  3. 3 Pleasant Grove Elementary 72.6/100
  4. 4 Turrentine Middle 72.0/100
  5. 5 Marvin B Smith Elementary 72.0/100

What do families ask about schools in Burlington?

Which Burlington school has the highest Resource Investment Index?

Alamance Virtual School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Burlington schools in this federal-data comparison at 66/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Burlington, NC?

Burlington has 15 public schools with a total enrollment of 8,933 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.8:1.

Other Cities in North Carolina

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in North Carolina →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.