Enrollment
642
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370507002030
Mountain Heritage High — Burnsville, NC
Federal NCES profile for Mountain Heritage High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 46
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 23
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: Yancey County Schools · North 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)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.6:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
46.3%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mountain Heritage High compares with North 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
Mountain Heritage High reports 642 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% below the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 46.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the North Carolina average and 11% below the national baseline. The school offers 8 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 321 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Yancey County Schools spends $14,949 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 18.4% from local sources (property taxes), 63.8% from the state, and 17.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Mountain Heritage High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North 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 North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.6:1 | ▼ 17% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 46.3% | ▼ 30% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 642 | 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
46.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% 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
13.6:1
students per teacher
— 17% below state mean
Top 28% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
31.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,949
per pupil, district-wide
— above North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 321 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
60
in-school suspensions + 25 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 642 Top 70% in North Carolina — larger than 30% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 13.6:1 -17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 46.3% -30% vs state
NCES ID 370507002030
Student demographics
White 78.3%
Hispanic or Latino 19.9%
Two or More 1.2%
African American 0.2%
Asian 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 78.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 8
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 321:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.0%
In-school suspensions 60
Out-of-school suspensions 25
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Yancey County Schools, which includes Mountain Heritage High.
$14,949
Per student
+15%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 18.4%
State 63.8%
Federal 17.9%
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
- 382
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 350
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 259
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Enrollment
- 210
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 188
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
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 Mountain Heritage High
How many students attend Mountain Heritage High?
Mountain Heritage High has 642 students enrolled. It is a high school in Burnsville, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mountain Heritage High?
The student-teacher ratio at Mountain Heritage High is 13.6:1, which is 17% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 14% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mountain Heritage High?
46.3% of students at Mountain Heritage High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mountain Heritage High?
The largest demographic group at Mountain Heritage High is White at 78.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Burnsville, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mountain Heritage High?
Mountain Heritage High has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) based on 5 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.