Enrollment
584
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 370035803325 Charter school
Cardinal Charter Academy — Cary, NC
Federal NCES profile for Cardinal Charter Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 33
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 82
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: Cardinal Charter · North 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)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.4%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cardinal Charter Academy compares with North 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
Cardinal Charter Academy reports 584 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% above the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 5% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% below the North Carolina average and 34% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 584 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 7.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cardinal Charter spends $9,925 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.3% from local sources (property taxes), 64.3% from the state, and 9.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Cardinal Charter Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North 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 North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.7:1 | ▲ 2% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.4% | ▼ 48% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 584 | top 63% | — | — |
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
34.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher
— 2% above state mean
Top 72% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 28% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
7.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$9,925
per pupil, district-wide
— below North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 584 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 584 Top 63% in North Carolina — larger than 37% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 16.7:1 +2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.4% -48% vs state
NCES ID 370035803325
Student demographics
African American 33.9%
White 26.2%
Hispanic or Latino 20.5%
Asian 11.6%
Two or More 7.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: African American at 33.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 584:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 7.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 24
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cardinal Charter, which includes Cardinal Charter Academy.
$9,925
Per student
-24%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-49%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 64.3%
Federal 9.3%
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.
Similar elementary schools in Cary
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Cardinal Charter Academy
How many students attend Cardinal Charter Academy?
Cardinal Charter Academy has 584 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Cary, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cardinal Charter Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Cardinal Charter Academy is 16.7:1, which is 2% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cardinal Charter Academy?
34.4% of students at Cardinal Charter Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cardinal Charter Academy?
The largest demographic group at Cardinal Charter Academy is African American at 33.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cary, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cardinal Charter Academy?
Cardinal Charter Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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.