Enrollment
349
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 450195000390
Latta Middle — Latta, SC
Federal NCES profile for Latta Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 73
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: Dillon 03 · 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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.4:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
80.3%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Latta 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
Latta Middle reports 349 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 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: 80.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 9% above the South Carolina average and 55% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 349 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Dillon 03 spends $12,264 per pupil district-wide, below the South Carolina average of $17,182 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.0% from local sources (property taxes), 51.0% from the state, and 30.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Latta 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 | 80.3% | ▲ 9% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 349 | top 22% | — | — |
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
80.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 9% above 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
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
10.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$12,264
per pupil, district-wide
— below 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 349 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 87 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 24.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 349 Top 22% in South Carolina — larger than 78% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 17.4:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 80.3% +9% vs state
NCES ID 450195000390
Student demographics
White 51.9%
African American 37.2%
Two or More 5.7%
Hispanic or Latino 3.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.4%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 51.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 349:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 87
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dillon 03, which includes Latta Middle.
$12,264
Per student
-29%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.0%
State 51.0%
Federal 30.0%
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
- 721
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 422
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
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 Latta Middle
How many students attend Latta Middle?
Latta Middle has 349 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Latta, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Latta Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Latta 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 Latta Middle?
80.3% of students at Latta Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Latta Middle?
The largest demographic group at Latta Middle is White at 51.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Latta, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Latta Middle?
Latta Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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.