Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County

Public high school, grades 6 to 12 · Sanford, North Carolina

Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County in Sanford, North Carolina enrolled 628 students in 2024-25 with 46.4 full-time teachers, 13.5 students per teacher against the North Carolina high-school median of 18.4. It ran a targeted Title I program in 2021-22; it does not take part in the National School Lunch Program (2024-25). On the state tests, 57-61% of its students tested were proficient in reading and 38-42% proficient in math in 2021-22 (North Carolina: 48% and 50%). Its four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 was 70-79% (North Carolina: 86.5%).

NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 · Title I status CCD 2021-22 · method

Enrollment rose 15% from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers rose 17%

547 students in 2022-23, 599 students in 2023-24, 628 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 39.5 to 46.4.

Students enrolled at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County by school year2022-23: 547, 2023-24: 599, 2024-25: 62802004006008002022-235472023-245992024-25628
Students enrolled at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County by school year2022-23: 547, 2023-24: 599, 2024-25: 62802004006008002022-235472023-245992024-25628
Students enrolled at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County by school year2022-23: 547, 2023-24: 599, 2024-25: 62802004006008002022-235472023-245992024-25628
Students enrolled at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County by school year2022-23: 547, 2023-24: 599, 2024-25: 62802004006008002022-235472023-245992024-25628
The numbers as a table
School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Per teacher
2022-2354739.513.8
2023-2459941.614.4
2024-2562846.413.5

13.5 students per teacher, a lower ratio than 87 of every 100 North Carolina high schools

Among the 588 North Carolina high schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 18.4; the national median for high schools is 14.5. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.

Students per teacher, North Carolina high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.2 to 74.4; This school 13.5; state median 18.4.2 more above 60.0 →0204060students per full-time teacherThis school 13.5state median 18.4U.S. 14.5
Students per teacher, North Carolina high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.2 to 74.4; This school 13.5; state median 18.4.2 more above 60.0 →0204060students per full-time teacherThis school 13.5state median 18.4U.S. 14.5
Students per teacher, North Carolina high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.2 to 74.4; This school 13.5; state median 18.4.2 more above 60.0 →0204060students per full-time teacherThis school 13.5state median 18.4U.S. 14.5
Students per teacher, North Carolina high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.2 to 74.4; This school 13.5; state median 18.4.2 more above 60.0 →0204060students per full-time teacherThis school 13.5state median 18.4U.S. 14.5

Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; the comparison counts schools with a 2024-25 teacher count and a ratio from 3 to 99 (lower values are reporting errors).

3 AP courses and one counselor per 236 students in 2021-22

In the 2021-22 civil rights collection Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County enrolled 471 students and had 2.0 counselors (full-time equivalent); it reported 48 out-of-school suspensions that year.

  • Advanced Placement courses3
  • Gifted and talented programNo
  • Counselors (FTE)2.0, one per 236 of the 471 students enrolled in 2021-22
  • Out-of-school suspensions48
  • Chronically absent15.5% (2022-23)

Who attends

54.1% of students were White, 20.5% Hispanic, 12.9% Black in 2024-25.

  1. White54.1%
  2. Hispanic20.5%
  3. Black12.9%
  4. Two or more races10.4%
  5. Asian1.3%
  6. American Indian0.6%
  7. Pacific Islander0.2%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22; chronic absenteeism from EDFacts 2022-23; every count and the counselor ratio are for that school year. Who attends: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25, membership by race and ethnicity.

State test results, 2021-22

In 2021-22, the students tested at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County scored proficient or above: 57-61% in reading and 38-42% in math, against 48% in reading and 50% in math across North Carolina. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within North Carolina, not across states. Where a state published results by grade only, the grades tested are combined, weighted by the students tested in each.

Students proficient or above, 2021-22
SubjectThis schoolIts districtNorth Carolina
Reading and language arts57‑61%57‑61%48%
Math38‑42%38‑42%50%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (2021-22 through the Data Rescue Project archive): ED shows school and district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.

Graduation rate, class of 2023

70-79% of the 46 students in Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.5% across North Carolina. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and counts those who earned a regular diploma by 2023. Every state computes it the same way under federal law, though each sets its own diploma requirements.

Four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rate, class of 2023
This schoolIts districtNorth Carolina
Four-year graduation rate70‑79%70‑79%86.5%
Students in the class4646120,822

Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express: ED shows school and district rates as ranges (for example 90-94%) and leaves out small classes.

High schools in Sanford

6 public high schools in Sanford report 2024-25 enrollment; Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County is number 3 by size.

SchoolStudentsPer teacherFree lunch
Lee County High1,45919.898.9%
Southern Lee High School1,18021.099.7%
Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County62813.5not reported
Central Carolina Academy53615.426.5%
Lee Early College27239.798.9%
Bragg Street Academy406.490.0%

All public schools in Sanford →

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.

What to look at next about Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County

  1. Lee County HighThe nearest public high school, 2.6 miles away: 1,459 students, 19.8 per teacher (2024-25).2.6 mi
  2. Lee Early CollegeThe next nearest public high school, 2.7 miles away: 272 students, 39.7 per teacher (2024-25).2.7 mi
  3. Compare Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County with Lee County HighStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
  4. How much Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County spends per student$8,991 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$8,991
  5. The largest public schools in North CarolinaAscend Leadership Academy: Lee County is the number 305 by size of 601 North Carolina high schools open in 2024-25.#305 of 601
  6. North Carolina schools by students per teacher13.5 students per teacher here against the North Carolina median of 18.4 for high schools.13.5:1
  7. Find the school district for an addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (locations, enrollment, teachers); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23. Distances are straight lines between the schools' NCES coordinates, not travel routes.

Questions about Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County

  1. How many students attend Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County?
    628 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 547 in 2022-23. It is a high school in Sanford, NC.
  2. What is the student-teacher ratio at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County?
    13.5 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the North Carolina median for high schools is 18.4. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
  3. Is Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County a Title I school?
    Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County ran a targeted assistance Title I program in 2021-22, the last year NCES published school Title I status.
  4. How do students at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County do on state tests?
    In 2021-22, the students tested at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County scored proficient or above: 57-61% in reading and 38-42% in math, against 48% in reading and 50% in math across North Carolina. North Carolina's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22; ED publishes school results as ranges to protect small groups.
  5. What is the graduation rate at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County?
    70-79% of the 46 students in Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.5% across North Carolina. The rate counts the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and the share of them with a regular diploma by 2023. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23; ED publishes school rates as ranges to protect small groups.
  6. What district is Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County in?
    Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County, NCES district ID 3700438. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 370043803459 are the district's.

Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.

Sources

Every federal file behind this record
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
  • Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
  • EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
  • EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
  • EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23: the class of 2023 for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
  • NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25

Source: Civil Rights Data Collection School-level files (AP, gifted, counselors, discipline) · 2021-22

District spending on the district page is from the NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23.

Compiled from official source data by .