Enrollment
367
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Lowell, NC
Lowell Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Lowell Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 370162000696
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 58
📋 Attendance 14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lowell Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools.
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.7:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 65.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 367
- students enrolled
Lowell Elementary has class sizes smaller than 81% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Gaston County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370162000696 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.7:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.0%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lowell Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lowell Elementary
Lowell Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Lowell, North Carolina, enrolling 367 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 65.0% lands close to the North Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 367 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 314 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #59.
Its student body is led by White (48%) and Hispanic or Latino (20%) (diversity index 68/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 210 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Gaston County Schools also operates Ashbrook High (1,386 students) and Hunter Huss High (1,165 students) alongside Lowell Elementary.
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 Lowell Elementary compares
Lowell Elementary on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.7:1 | ▼ 20% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.0% | ▼ 2% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 367 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.7:1
Leaner classes than 69% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
367
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
65.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.7:1
students per teacher
- 20% below state mean
Top 19% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
34.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,409
per pupil, district-wide
- below North Carolina avg of $12,017
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.8 FTE
Per 210 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
12
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.7 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
White 48.2%
Hispanic or Latino 20.2%
African American 19.6%
Two or More 6.0%
Asian 5.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 48.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 68.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 68.2, Lowell Elementary is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gaston County Schools, which includes Lowell Elementary.
$11,409
Per student
-5%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 16.3%
State 64.3%
Federal 19.4%
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 Lowell Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbrook High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hunter Huss High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Forestview High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Gaston High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Point High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lowell Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,386
- Students per teacher
- 24.8:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 1,165
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 1,133
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 1,061
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 989
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~367 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lowell Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Lowell Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Gaston County Schools'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 Lowell Elementary
How many students attend Lowell Elementary?
Lowell Elementary has 367 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Lowell, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lowell Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Lowell Elementary is 12.7:1, which is 20% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 19% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lowell Elementary?
65.0% of students at Lowell Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lowell Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Lowell Elementary is White at 48.2% of enrollment, in Lowell, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lowell Elementary?
Lowell Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical 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).
Is Lowell Elementary a good school?
Lowell Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of North 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 Gaston County Schools?
Besides Lowell Elementary, Gaston County Schools also operates Ashbrook High (1,386 students), Hunter Huss High (1,165 students), and Forestview High (1,133 students). See the Gaston County Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.