Enrollment
523
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 450339001653
Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus — Blythewood, SC
Federal NCES profile for Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 80
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: Richland 02 · 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)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.4%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus 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
Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus reports 523 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 37.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% 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% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.4% 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 South Carolina average and 16% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 523 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Richland 02 spends $18,376 per pupil district-wide, above the South Carolina average of $17,182 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 42.0% from local sources (property taxes), 47.7% from the state, and 10.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus 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 | 14.5:1 | ▲ 1% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.4% | ▼ 41% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 523 | top 47% | — | — |
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
43.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% below the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.5:1
students per teacher
— 1% above state mean
Top 56% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
8.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$18,376
per pupil, district-wide
— above South Carolina avg of $17,182
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 523 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 523 Top 47% in South Carolina — larger than 53% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 37.0
Students per teacher 14.5:1 +1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.4% -41% vs state
NCES ID 450339001653
Student demographics
African American 52.6%
White 26.6%
Hispanic or Latino 10.5%
Two or More 7.1%
Asian 2.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 52.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 523:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.0%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richland 02, which includes Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus.
$18,376
Per student
+7%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 42.0%
State 47.7%
Federal 10.3%
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
- 2,230
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,164
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,743
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,631
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,340
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
Similar elementary schools in Blythewood
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus
How many students attend Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus?
Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus has 523 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Blythewood, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus is 14.5:1, which is 1% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus?
43.4% of students at Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus?
The largest demographic group at Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus is African American at 52.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Blythewood, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus?
Lake Carolina Elementary Upper Campus has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.