Enrollment
677
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 370043003449 Charter school
Johnston Charter Academy — Clayton, NC
Federal NCES profile for Johnston Charter Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 43
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: Johnston Charter Academy · 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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.6:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+38% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
38.9%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Johnston 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
Johnston Charter Academy reports 677 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 38% 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 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 38.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% below the North Carolina average and 25% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 22.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Johnston Charter Academy spends $9,086 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Johnston 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 | 22.6:1 | ▲ 38% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 38.9% | ▼ 41% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 677 | top 73% | — | — |
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
38.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% 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
22.6:1
students per teacher
— 38% above state mean
Top 95% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
22.9%
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
$9,086
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
42
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 677 Top 73% in North Carolina — larger than 27% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 22.6:1 +38% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 38.9% -41% vs state
NCES ID 370043003449
Student demographics
White 39.7%
African American 30.4%
Hispanic or Latino 17.1%
Two or More 10.2%
Asian 2.5%
Largest group: White at 39.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 22.9%
In-school suspensions 42
Out-of-school suspensions 36
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Johnston Charter Academy, which includes Johnston Charter Academy.
$9,086
Per student
-30%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-53%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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 Johnston Charter Academy
How many students attend Johnston Charter Academy?
Johnston Charter Academy has 677 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Clayton, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Johnston Charter Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Johnston Charter Academy is 22.6:1, which is 38% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Johnston Charter Academy?
38.9% of students at Johnston Charter Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Johnston Charter Academy?
The largest demographic group at Johnston Charter Academy is White at 39.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Clayton, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Johnston Charter Academy?
Johnston Charter Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.