Middle school (grades 6-8) · Charlotte, NC

Kennedy Middle

Federal NCES profile for Kennedy Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 370297001232
0/100100/10037/100
👥 S:T ratio
24
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
34
📋 Attendance
19
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Kennedy Middle earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of North Carolina schools.

#10 of 22
middle schools in Charlotte · Resource Index
37
Resource Index · Typical
19:1
large classes for North Carolina
45.3%
free-lunch eligible

Kennedy Middle has class sizes larger than 86% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Kennedy Middle ranks #10 of 22 middle schools in Charlotte, NC.

Enrollment

990

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

52.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

19:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

+20% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

45.3%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

-31% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Kennedy Middle compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Kennedy Middle

Kennedy Middle is a large middle school in Charlotte, North Carolina, enrolling 990 students.

Class loads run heavy: 19:1 is larger than about 86% of North Carolina schools and 20% above the 15.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 45.3% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 990 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.

Against 337 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #177.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (41%) and African American (39%) (diversity index 66/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 330 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 15.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 3 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Charlotte's middle schools, it stands alongside Community House Middle (1,425 students): Kennedy Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (19:1 vs 20.4:1).

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also operates Myers Park High School (3,225 students) and Ardrey Kell High School (3,036 students) alongside Kennedy Middle.

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 Kennedy Middle compares

Kennedy Middle 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 19:1 ▲ 20% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 45.3% ▼ 31% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 990 top 11% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

19:1
Leaner classes than 20% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
990
Bigger than 91% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
45.3%
free-lunch eligible - 31% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19:1
students per teacher - 20% above state mean
Top 86% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
32.5%
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
$11,853
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 330 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
68
in-school suspensions + 77 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.

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

Hispanic or Latino 41.4%
African American 39.2%
Asian 7.9%
White 6.9%
Two or More 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 41.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 66.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 66.2, Kennedy Middle is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which includes Kennedy Middle.

$11,853
Per student
-1%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.2%
State 52.1%
Federal 15.6%

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 Kennedy Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Myers Park High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Ardrey Kell High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
South Mecklenburg High School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
William Amos Hough High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
East Mecklenburg High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Kennedy Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Charlotte

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Kennedy Middle's federal record.

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 Kennedy Middle

How many students attend Kennedy Middle?

Kennedy Middle has 990 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Charlotte, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Kennedy Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Kennedy Middle is 19:1, which is 20% higher than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 21% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kennedy Middle?

45.3% of students at Kennedy Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kennedy Middle?

The largest demographic group at Kennedy Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 41.4% of enrollment, in Charlotte, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.2/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Kennedy Middle?

Kennedy Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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).

How does Kennedy Middle rank among middle schools in Charlotte?

By Resource Investment Index, Kennedy Middle ranks #10 of 22 middle schools in Charlotte, NC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Charlotte on the city page.

Is Kennedy Middle a good school?

Kennedy Middle earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% 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-Mecklenburg Schools?

Besides Kennedy Middle, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also operates Myers Park High School (3,225 students), Ardrey Kell High School (3,036 students), and South Mecklenburg High School (2,534 students). See the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

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.