Enrollment
807
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Lab School
Federal NCES profile for Charlotte Lab School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370039103375Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Charlotte Lab School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 83% of North Carolina schools.
- 28
- Resource Index · Lower
- 12.6:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 32.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 807
- students enrolled
Charlotte Lab School has class sizes smaller than 83% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Charlotte Lab School · North Carolina
NCES ID 370039103375 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
64.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.6:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.4%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Charlotte Lab School compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Charlotte Lab School
Charlotte Lab School is a mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Charlotte, North Carolina, enrolling 807 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 32.4% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 807 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 94% of the 2,698 North Carolina schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 328 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need North Carolina schools statewide, it ranks #312, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (50%) and Hispanic or Latino (18%) (diversity index 67/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 538 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Charlotte's public schools, it stands alongside Sugar Creek Charter (1,591 students): Charlotte Lab School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.6:1 vs 30:1).
Charlotte Lab School is a single-school charter district, so Charlotte Lab School operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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 Charlotte Lab School compares
Charlotte Lab 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 | 12.6:1 | ▼ 20% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.4% | ▼ 51% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 807 | top 17% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.6:1
Leaner classes than 70% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
807
Bigger than 86% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
32.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.6:1
students per teacher
- 20% below state mean
Top 17% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
27.3%
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
$11,031
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
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 538 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 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
African American 49.9%
Hispanic or Latino 17.8%
White 17.0%
Two or More 13.9%
Asian 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 49.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 67.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 67.1, Charlotte Lab School is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
AP courses offered 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charlotte Lab School, which includes Charlotte Lab School.
$11,031
Per student
-8%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.5%
State 59.1%
Federal 8.3%
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 other schools in Charlotte
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Sugar Creek Charter
Standard public school
1,591 students 30:1 students per teacher
Bradford Preparatory School
Standard public school
1,566 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
Corvian Community School
Standard public school
1,376 students 20.8:1 students per teacher
Northwest School of the Arts
Standard public school
993 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Jackson Day School
Standard public school
882 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Cochrane Collegiate Academy
Standard public school
854 students 18.6:1 students per teacher
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 (~807 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Charlotte Lab School's federal record.
- Compare Charlotte Lab School against another school. Compare schools
- Charlotte Lab School'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 Charlotte Lab School
How many students attend Charlotte Lab School?
Charlotte Lab School has 807 students enrolled. It is a public school in Charlotte, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Charlotte Lab School?
The student-teacher ratio at Charlotte Lab School is 12.6:1, which is 20% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 20% 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 Charlotte Lab School?
32.4% of students at Charlotte Lab School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Charlotte Lab School?
The largest demographic group at Charlotte Lab School is African American at 49.9% of enrollment, in Charlotte, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 67.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Charlotte Lab School?
Charlotte Lab School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 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 Charlotte Lab School a good school?
Charlotte Lab School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 83% 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 Charlotte Lab School?
None; Charlotte Lab School is a single-school charter district, and Charlotte Lab School is its only campus.
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.