Other / mixed grade configuration · Charlotte, NC

Briarwood Academy

Federal NCES profile for Briarwood Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370297001198
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
41
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
35
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Briarwood Academy earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.

#49 of 70
schools in Charlotte · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
14.8:1
students per teacher
99.4%
free-lunch eligible

Briarwood Academy has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Briarwood Academy ranks #49 of 70 schools in Charlotte, NC.

Enrollment

649

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

44.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.8:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

-6% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

99.4%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

+51% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Briarwood Academy compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Briarwood Academy

Briarwood Academy is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Charlotte, North Carolina, enrolling 649 students.

At 14.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the North Carolina median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need is high: 99.4% of students qualify for free meals, 51% above the North Carolina average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 649 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.

Against 501 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #237.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (64%) and African American (26%) (diversity index 52/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 325 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 44.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 15.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Charlotte's public schools, it stands alongside Sugar Creek Charter (1,591 students): Briarwood Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.8:1 vs 30:1).

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also operates Myers Park High School (3,225 students) and Ardrey Kell High School (3,036 students) alongside Briarwood Academy.

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 Briarwood Academy compares

Briarwood Academy on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs North Carolina North Carolina avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 14.8:1 ▼ 6% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 99.4% ▲ 51% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 649 top 30% - -

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

14.8:1
Leaner classes than 49% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
649
Bigger than 77% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
99.4%
free-lunch eligible - 51% above the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.8:1
students per teacher - 6% below state mean
Top 46% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
44.5%
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
$11,853
per pupil, district-wide - below North Carolina avg of $12,017
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 325 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 32 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.2 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

Hispanic or Latino 64.4%
African American 25.6%
Asian 4.8%
Two or More 2.5%
White 2.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 64.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 51.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 51.6, Briarwood Academy is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which includes Briarwood Academy.

$11,853
Per student
-1%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.2%
State 52.1%
Federal 15.6%

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 Briarwood Academy Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Myers Park High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Ardrey Kell High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
South Mecklenburg High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
William Amos Hough High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
East Mecklenburg High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Briarwood Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Charlotte

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 North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Briarwood Academy'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 Briarwood Academy

How many students attend Briarwood Academy?

Briarwood Academy has 649 students enrolled. It is a public school in Charlotte, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Briarwood Academy?

The student-teacher ratio at Briarwood Academy is 14.8:1, which is 6% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 6% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Briarwood Academy?

99.4% of students at Briarwood Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Briarwood Academy?

The largest demographic group at Briarwood Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 64.4% of enrollment, in Charlotte, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Briarwood Academy?

Briarwood Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical 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 Briarwood Academy rank among schools in Charlotte?

By Resource Investment Index, Briarwood Academy ranks #49 of 70 schools in Charlotte, NC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Charlotte on the city page.

Is Briarwood Academy a good school?

Briarwood Academy earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median. 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 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?

Besides Briarwood Academy, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also operates Myers Park High School (3,225 students), Ardrey Kell High School (3,036 students), and South Mecklenburg High School (2,534 students). See the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 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.