Enrollment
730
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Sumter, SC
Liberty Steam Charter School
Federal NCES profile for Liberty Steam Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 450390101741Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 93
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Liberty Steam Charter School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of South Carolina schools.
- #17 of 20
- public schools in Sumter · Resource Index
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 40.6:1
- large classes for South Carolina
- 65.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Liberty Steam Charter School has class sizes larger than 99% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Liberty Steam Charter School ranks #17 of 20 public schools in Sumter, SC.
School address
District: Sc Public Charter School District · South Carolina
NCES ID 450390101741 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
40.6:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+184% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-12% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Liberty Steam Charter School compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Liberty Steam Charter School
Liberty Steam Charter School is a higher-need, mid-sized charter elementary school in Sumter, South Carolina, enrolling 730 students.
Class loads run heavy: 40.6:1 is larger than about 99% of South Carolina schools and 184% above the 14.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 65.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 730 puts it in the larger third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 94% of the 1,214 South Carolina schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 175 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need South Carolina schools statewide, it ranks #170, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (50%) and White (38%) (diversity index 60/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 730 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 2.9% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Sc Public Charter School District spends $22,523 per pupil, 55% above the South Carolina average, a better-resourced district than most.
Sc Public Charter School District also operates York Preparatory Academy (1,672 students) and Legacy Early College (1,592 students) alongside Liberty Steam Charter School.
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 Liberty Steam Charter School compares
Liberty Steam Charter School on the metrics families compare, against South Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 40.6:1 | ▲ 184% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.0% | ▼ 12% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 730 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
40.6:1
Leaner classes than 1% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
730
Bigger than 82% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
65.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 12% 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
40.6:1
students per teacher
- 184% above state mean
Top 99% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
2.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$22,523
per pupil, district-wide
- above South Carolina avg of $14,558
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 730 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 50.0%
White 38.1%
Two or More 6.4%
Hispanic or Latino 4.2%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 50.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.9, Liberty Steam Charter School is more mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sc Public Charter School District, which includes Liberty Steam Charter School.
$22,523
Per student
+55%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
+36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 5.8%
State 80.6%
Federal 13.6%
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 Liberty Steam Charter School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| York Preparatory Academy | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Legacy Early College | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Bridges Preparatory School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| High Point Academy | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Green Charter School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Liberty Steam Charter School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,672
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 1,592
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 1,472
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 1,208
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 998
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~730 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Liberty Steam Charter School's federal record.
- Compare Liberty Steam Charter School against another school. Compare schools
- Sc Public Charter School District'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 Liberty Steam Charter School
How many students attend Liberty Steam Charter School?
Liberty Steam Charter School has 730 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Sumter, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberty Steam Charter School?
The student-teacher ratio at Liberty Steam Charter School is 40.6:1, which is 184% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 159% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Liberty Steam Charter School?
65.0% of students at Liberty Steam Charter School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberty Steam Charter School?
The largest demographic group at Liberty Steam Charter School is African American at 50.0% of enrollment, in Sumter, SC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberty Steam Charter School?
Liberty Steam Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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 Liberty Steam Charter School rank among public schools in Sumter?
By Resource Investment Index, Liberty Steam Charter School ranks #17 of 20 public schools in Sumter, SC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Sumter on the city page.
Is Liberty Steam Charter School a good school?
Liberty Steam Charter School earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of South 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 Sc Public Charter School District?
Besides Liberty Steam Charter School, Sc Public Charter School District also operates York Preparatory Academy (1,672 students), Legacy Early College (1,592 students), and Bridges Preparatory School (1,472 students). See the Sc Public Charter School District district page for the complete list.
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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.