Enrollment
730
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 450390101741 Charter school
Liberty Steam Charter School — Sumter, SC
Federal NCES profile for Liberty Steam Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 93
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: Sc Public Charter School District · 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)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.4:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+29% 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
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
Liberty Steam Charter School reports 730 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% 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 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 65.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 12% below the South Carolina average and 25% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 730 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 2.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sc Public Charter School District spends $25,770 per pupil district-wide, above the South Carolina average of $17,182 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 5.8% from local sources (property taxes), 80.6% from the state, and 13.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), 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 Liberty Steam Charter School 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 | 18.4:1 | ▲ 29% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.0% | ▼ 12% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 730 | top 70% | — | — |
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
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
18.4:1
students per teacher
— 29% above state mean
Top 94% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
2.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$25,770
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
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
Enrollment 730 Top 70% in South Carolina — larger than 30% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 18.4:1 +29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 65.0% -12% vs state
NCES ID 450390101741
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.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 730:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 2.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sc Public Charter School District, which includes Liberty Steam Charter School.
$25,770
Per student
+50%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
+32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,672
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,592
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,472
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,208
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Enrollment
- 998
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
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 Liberty Steam Charter School
How many students attend Liberty Steam Charter School?
Liberty Steam Charter School has 730 students enrolled. It is a 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 18.4:1, which is 29% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 16% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
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%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sumter, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberty Steam Charter School?
Liberty Steam Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) 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.