Enrollment
284
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Buxton, NC
Cape Hatteras Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Cape Hatteras Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370111002088
👥 S:T ratio 58
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 24
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cape Hatteras Elementary School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of North Carolina schools.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.5:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 49.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 284
- students enrolled
Cape Hatteras Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 93% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Dare County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370111002088 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
49.7%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cape Hatteras Elementary School compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cape Hatteras Elementary School
Cape Hatteras Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Buxton, North Carolina, enrolling 284 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.5:1, Cape Hatteras Elementary School is leaner than roughly 93% of North Carolina schools and 34% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 49.7% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 284 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 214 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #77.
Its student body is led by White (71%) and Hispanic or Latino (26%) (diversity index 43/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 281 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Buxton's public schools, it stands alongside Cape Hatteras Secondary School (364 students): Cape Hatteras Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (10.5:1 vs 10.1:1).
Dare County Schools also operates First Flight High School (874 students) and Manteo Elementary School (636 students) alongside Cape Hatteras Elementary School.
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 Cape Hatteras Elementary School compares
Cape Hatteras Elementary School 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 | 10.5:1 | ▼ 34% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 49.7% | ▼ 25% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 284 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.5:1
Leaner classes than 86% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
284
Bigger than 30% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
49.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 25% 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
10.5:1
students per teacher
- 34% below state mean
Top 7% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
30.3%
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
$13,375
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 281 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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 70.8%
Hispanic or Latino 25.7%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 70.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 43.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 43.2, Cape Hatteras Elementary School is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dare County Schools, which includes Cape Hatteras Elementary School.
$13,375
Per student
+11%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.1%
State 51.5%
Federal 12.4%
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 Cape Hatteras Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Flight High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Manteo Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| First Flight Middle School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Manteo High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kitty Hawk Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cape Hatteras Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 874
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 636
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 604
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 528
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 487
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
Similar other schools in Buxton
1 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.
Similar enrollment (~284 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cape Hatteras Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Cape Hatteras Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Dare 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 Cape Hatteras Elementary School
How many students attend Cape Hatteras Elementary School?
Cape Hatteras Elementary School has 284 students enrolled. It is a public school in Buxton, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cape Hatteras Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cape Hatteras Elementary School is 10.5:1, which is 34% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 33% 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 Cape Hatteras Elementary School?
49.7% of students at Cape Hatteras Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cape Hatteras Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Cape Hatteras Elementary School is White at 70.8% of enrollment, in Buxton, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cape Hatteras Elementary School?
Cape Hatteras Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher 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).
Is Cape Hatteras Elementary School a good school?
Cape Hatteras Elementary School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of North Carolina schools. 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 Dare County Schools?
Besides Cape Hatteras Elementary School, Dare County Schools also operates First Flight High School (874 students), Manteo Elementary School (636 students), and First Flight Middle School (604 students). See the Dare 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.