Enrollment
928
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Lawndale, NC
Burns High
Federal NCES profile for Burns High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 370090000336
👥 S:T ratio 39
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Burns High earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.2:1
- students per teacher
- 57.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 928
- students enrolled
Burns High has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Cleveland County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370090000336 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
61.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.5%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Burns High compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Burns High
Burns High is a higher-need, large high school in Lawndale, North Carolina, enrolling 928 students.
At 15.2:1, 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.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 57.5% lands close to the North Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 928 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 319 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #157.
Its student body is led by White (68%) and African American (17%) (diversity index 50/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 10 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 309 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 41.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 224 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 928 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Cleveland County Schools also operates Kings Mountain High (1,305 students) and Crest High (1,098 students) alongside Burns High.
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 Burns High compares
Burns High 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 | 15.2:1 | ▼ 4% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.5% | ▼ 13% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 928 | top 12% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.2:1
Leaner classes than 45% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
928
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 13% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.2:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 52% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
41.8%
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
$11,957
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 309 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
109
in-school suspensions + 115 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 24.1 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
White 67.5%
African American 16.8%
Hispanic or Latino 10.2%
Two or More 5.0%
Asian 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 67.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 50.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 50.3, Burns High is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
AP courses offered 10
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cleveland County Schools, which includes Burns High.
$11,957
Per student
0%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.4%
State 59.1%
Federal 19.5%
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 Burns High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Mountain High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Crest High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Crest Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Shelby High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Burns Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Burns High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,305
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 1,098
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 810
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 792
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 744
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
Similar high 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.
Similar enrollment (~928 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Burns High's federal record.
- Compare Burns High against another school. Compare schools
- Cleveland County Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Burns High
How many students attend Burns High?
Burns High has 928 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lawndale, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Burns High?
The student-teacher ratio at Burns High is 15.2:1, which is 4% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 3% 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 Burns High?
57.5% of students at Burns High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Burns High?
The largest demographic group at Burns High is White at 67.5% of enrollment, in Lawndale, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 50.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Burns High?
Burns High has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Burns High a good school?
Burns High earns 39/100 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 Cleveland County Schools?
Besides Burns High, Cleveland County Schools also operates Kings Mountain High (1,305 students), Crest High (1,098 students), and Crest Middle (810 students). See the Cleveland County Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.