Enrollment
986
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 450144001217
Laing Middle — Mount Pleasant, SC
Federal NCES profile for Laing Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 57/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 77
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: Charleston 01 · South 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)
58.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.4:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.9%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Laing Middle compares with South 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
Laing Middle reports 986 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 58.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% above the South Carolina state mean of 14.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 73% below the South Carolina average and 62% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 247 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Charleston 01 spends $20,688 per pupil district-wide, above the South Carolina average of $17,182 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 59.0% from local sources (property taxes), 27.7% from the state, and 13.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C), 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 Laing Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against South 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 South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.4:1 | ▲ 22% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.9% | ▼ 73% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 986 | top 86% | — | — |
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
19.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 73% below the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.4:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 89% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$20,688
per pupil, district-wide
— above South Carolina avg of $17,182
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 247 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
111
in-school suspensions + 64 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 986 Top 86% in South Carolina — larger than 14% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 58.0
Students per teacher 17.4:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.9% -73% vs state
NCES ID 450144001217
Student demographics
White 79.7%
African American 11.5%
Hispanic or Latino 4.1%
Two or More 2.5%
Asian 2.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 79.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 247:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.3%
In-school suspensions 111
Out-of-school suspensions 64
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charleston 01, which includes Laing Middle.
$20,688
Per student
+20%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 59.0%
State 27.7%
Federal 13.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,588
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,135
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,069
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,757
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 1,612
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
Similar middle schools in Mount Pleasant
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Laing Middle
How many students attend Laing Middle?
Laing Middle has 986 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mount Pleasant, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Laing Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Laing Middle is 17.4:1, which is 22% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Laing Middle?
19.9% of students at Laing Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Laing Middle?
The largest demographic group at Laing Middle is White at 79.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mount Pleasant, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Laing Middle?
Laing Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.