Enrollment
461
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Philadelphia, PA
Laboratory Cs
Federal NCES profile for Laboratory Cs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 15/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420004400406Charter school
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Laboratory Cs earns 15/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.
- #128 of 131
- elementary schools in Philadelphia · Resource Index
- 15
- Resource Index · Lower
- 55.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 461
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Laboratory Cs ranks #128 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA.
School address
District: Laboratory Cs · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420004400406 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
55.4%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-5% vs state
What stands out at Laboratory Cs
Laboratory Cs is a higher-need, mid-sized charter elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, enrolling 461 students.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 55.4% lands close to the Pennsylvania typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 461 students, its enrollment sits close to the Pennsylvania median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 100% of the 2,889 Pennsylvania schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 427 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Pennsylvania schools statewide, it ranks #426, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly African American (93% of enrollment) (diversity index 13/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 68.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Laboratory Cs spends $23,810 per pupil, 32% above the Pennsylvania average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 32.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Philadelphia's elementary schools, it stands alongside Northeast Community Propel Academy (1,783 students): Laboratory Cs is smaller than that campus by headcount.
Laboratory Cs is a single-school charter district, so Laboratory Cs 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 Laboratory Cs compares
Laboratory Cs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.4% | ▼ 5% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 461 | top 49% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
461
Bigger than 56% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 5% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
68.5%
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
$23,810
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
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 93.3%
Hispanic or Latino 4.8%
White 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Two or More 0.7%
Largest group: African American at 93.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 12.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 12.7, Laboratory Cs is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Laboratory Cs, which includes Laboratory Cs.
$23,810
Per student
+32%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+43%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 1.1%
Federal 32.3%
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 elementary schools in Philadelphia
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Northeast Community Propel Academy
Standard public school
1,783 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Mayfair Sch
Standard public school
1,763 students 21:1 students per teacher
Solis-Cohen Solomon Sch
Standard public school
1,350 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Mast Community Cs Iii
Standard public school
1,290 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Moore J Hampton Sch
Standard public school
1,192 students 17:1 students per teacher
Farrell Louis H Sch
Standard public school
1,187 students 18:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Laboratory Cs's federal record.
- Compare Laboratory Cs against another school. Compare schools
- Laboratory Cs'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 Laboratory Cs
How many students attend Laboratory Cs?
Laboratory Cs has 461 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Philadelphia, PA.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Laboratory Cs?
55.4% of students at Laboratory Cs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Laboratory Cs?
The largest demographic group at Laboratory Cs is African American at 93.3% of enrollment, in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Laboratory Cs?
Laboratory Cs has a Resource Investment Index of 15/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Laboratory Cs rank among elementary schools in Philadelphia?
By Resource Investment Index, Laboratory Cs ranks #128 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Philadelphia on the city page.
Is Laboratory Cs a good school?
Laboratory Cs earns 15/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. 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 Laboratory Cs?
None; Laboratory Cs is a single-school charter district, and Laboratory Cs 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.