Enrollment
1,472
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 450390101617 Charter school
Bridges Preparatory School — Beaufort, SC
Federal NCES profile for Bridges Preparatory School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 2
📋 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: Sc Public Charter School District · South Carolina
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)
87.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.6:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.7%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-83% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bridges Preparatory School compares with South Carolina 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
Bridges Preparatory School reports 1,472 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 87.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% above the South Carolina state mean of 14.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 12.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 83% below the South Carolina average and 75% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 491 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 Sc Public Charter School District spends $25,770 per pupil district-wide, above the South Carolina average of $17,182 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 5.8% from local sources (property taxes), 80.6% from the state, and 13.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Bridges Preparatory School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against South Carolina state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.6:1 | ▲ 2% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.7% | ▼ 83% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,472 | top 94% | — | — |
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
12.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 83% below the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.6:1
students per teacher
— 2% above state mean
Top 58% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 42% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
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
$25,770
per pupil, district-wide
— above South Carolina avg of $17,182
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 491 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
85
in-school suspensions + 66 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,472 Top 94% in South Carolina — larger than 6% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 87.0
Students per teacher 14.6:1 +2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 12.7% -83% vs state
NCES ID 450390101617
Student demographics
White 66.2%
African American 13.1%
Hispanic or Latino 11.9%
Two or More 6.1%
Asian 1.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Largest group: White at 66.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 491:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.6%
In-school suspensions 85
Out-of-school suspensions 66
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sc Public Charter School District, which includes Bridges Preparatory School.
$25,770
Per student
+50%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
+32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 5.8%
State 80.6%
Federal 13.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,672
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,592
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,208
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Enrollment
- 998
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 755
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
Similar other schools in Beaufort
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Robert Smalls International Academy
Standard public school
785 students 10.9:1 students per teacher
Broad River Elementary
Standard public school
467 students 9.9:1 students per teacher
Coosa Elementary
Standard public school
467 students 13.6:1 students per teacher
Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary
Standard public school
416 students 10.4:1 students per teacher
Lowcountry Montessori School
Standard public school
408 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Beaufort Elementary
Standard public school
375 students 7.6:1 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 Bridges Preparatory School
How many students attend Bridges Preparatory School?
Bridges Preparatory School has 1,472 students enrolled. It is a other school in Beaufort, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bridges Preparatory School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bridges Preparatory School is 14.6:1, which is 2% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 8% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bridges Preparatory School?
12.7% of students at Bridges Preparatory School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bridges Preparatory School?
The largest demographic group at Bridges Preparatory School is White at 66.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Beaufort, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bridges Preparatory School?
Bridges Preparatory School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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.