Enrollment
408
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 450390101646 Charter school
Lowcountry Montessori School — Beaufort, SC
Federal NCES profile for Lowcountry Montessori School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 85
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)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.6:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.9%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
-81% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lowcountry Montessori 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
Lowcountry Montessori School reports 408 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 24.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% 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 2% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 81% below the South Carolina average and 73% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 204 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 6.1% 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 53/100 (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 Lowcountry Montessori 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 | 15.6:1 | ▲ 9% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.9% | ▼ 81% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 408 | top 30% | — | — |
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
13.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 81% 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
15.6:1
students per teacher
— 9% above state mean
Top 71% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 29% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
6.1%
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 204 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
39
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 408 Top 30% in South Carolina — larger than 70% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 24.0
Students per teacher 15.6:1 +9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.9% -81% vs state
NCES ID 450390101646
Student demographics
White 70.3%
African American 16.2%
Hispanic or Latino 9.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.7%
Two or More 1.5%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 70.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 1
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 204:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 6.1%
In-school suspensions 39
Out-of-school suspensions 20
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sc Public Charter School District, which includes Lowcountry Montessori 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
Similar other schools in Beaufort
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Bridges Preparatory School
Standard public school
1,472 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
Robert Smalls International Academy
Standard public school
785 students 10.9:1 students per teacher
Broad River Elementary
Standard public school
467 students 9.9:1 students per teacher
Coosa Elementary
Standard public school
467 students 13.6:1 students per teacher
Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary
Standard public school
416 students 10.4:1 students per teacher
Beaufort Elementary
Standard public school
375 students 7.6:1 students per teacher
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 Lowcountry Montessori School
How many students attend Lowcountry Montessori School?
Lowcountry Montessori School has 408 students enrolled. It is a other school in Beaufort, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lowcountry Montessori School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lowcountry Montessori School is 15.6:1, which is 9% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 2% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lowcountry Montessori School?
13.9% of students at Lowcountry Montessori School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lowcountry Montessori School?
The largest demographic group at Lowcountry Montessori School is White at 70.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Beaufort, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lowcountry Montessori School?
Lowcountry Montessori School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.