Enrollment
512
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Timberlake, NC
Helena Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Helena Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 370363001479
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 35
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Helena Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.5:1
- students per teacher
- 99.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 512
- students enrolled
Helena Elementary has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Person County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370363001479 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.4%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
+51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Helena Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Helena Elementary
Helena Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Timberlake, North Carolina, enrolling 512 students.
At 15.5:1, 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.
Economic need is high: 99.4% of students qualify for free meals, 51% above the North Carolina average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 512 students, its enrollment sits close to the North Carolina median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 560 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #281.
Its student body is led by White (66%) and African American (14%) (diversity index 52/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 512 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 21.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Person County Schools also operates Person High (1,165 students) and South Elementary (463 students) alongside Helena Elementary.
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 Helena Elementary compares
Helena Elementary 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 | 15.5:1 | ▼ 2% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.4% | ▲ 51% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 512 | top 47% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.5:1
Leaner classes than 42% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
512
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% above the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
- 2% below state mean
Top 56% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
26.2%
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
$13,423
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 512 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.9 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 66.2%
African American 14.3%
Hispanic or Latino 13.3%
Two or More 6.3%
Largest group: White at 66.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.0, Helena Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Person County Schools, which includes Helena Elementary.
$13,423
Per student
+12%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.3%
State 55.0%
Federal 21.7%
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 Helena Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Southern Middle | Similar size | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Northern Middle | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Stories Creek Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Helena Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,165
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 463
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 456
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 454
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 397
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
Similar elementary 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 (~512 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Helena Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Helena Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Person 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 Helena Elementary
How many students attend Helena Elementary?
Helena Elementary has 512 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Timberlake, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Helena Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Helena Elementary is 15.5:1, which is 2% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 1% 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 Helena Elementary?
99.4% of students at Helena Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Helena Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Helena Elementary is White at 66.2% of enrollment, in Timberlake, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Helena Elementary?
Helena Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical 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 Helena Elementary a good school?
Helena Elementary earns 36/100 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 Person County Schools?
Besides Helena Elementary, Person County Schools also operates Person High (1,165 students), South Elementary (463 students), and Southern Middle (456 students). See the Person 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.