Enrollment
807
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 370039103375 Charter school
Charlotte Lab School — Charlotte, NC
Federal NCES profile for Charlotte Lab School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 25/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 32
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: Charlotte Lab School · 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)
64.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-5% 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
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
Charlotte Lab School reports 807 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 64.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 51% below the North Carolina average and 37% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 538 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 27.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Charlotte Lab School spends $11,244 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.5% from local sources (property taxes), 59.1% from the state, and 8.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (F), 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 Charlotte Lab School 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 | 15.5:1 | ▼ 5% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.4% | ▼ 51% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 807 | top 83% | — | — |
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
32.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 51% 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
15.5:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 57% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
27.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,244
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
Counselors1.5 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
Enrollment 807 Top 83% in North Carolina — larger than 17% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 64.0
Students per teacher 15.5:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.4% -51% vs state
NCES ID 370039103375
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.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 538:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 27.3%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 13
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charlotte Lab School, which includes Charlotte Lab School.
$11,244
Per student
-14%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-42%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
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 Charlotte Lab School
How many students attend Charlotte Lab School?
Charlotte Lab School has 807 students enrolled. It is a other school in CHARLOTTE, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Charlotte Lab School?
The student-teacher ratio at Charlotte Lab School is 15.5:1, which is 5% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. 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%. The school serves a diverse student body in CHARLOTTE, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Charlotte Lab School?
Charlotte Lab School has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.