Other / mixed grade configuration · Charleston, SC

Murray-Lasaine Montessori

Federal NCES profile for Murray-Lasaine Montessori, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 450144000218
0/100100/10055/100
👥 S:T ratio
40
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
31
📋 Attendance
80
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Murray-Lasaine Montessori earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Carolina median.

#5 of 21
schools in Charleston · Resource Index
55
Resource Index · Higher
15.1:1
students per teacher
36.4%
free-lunch eligible

Murray-Lasaine Montessori has class sizes near the South Carolina median. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Murray-Lasaine Montessori ranks #5 of 21 schools in Charleston, SC.

School address

Enrollment

347

South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

23.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.1:1

vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg

+6% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

36.4%

vs 74.0% South Carolina avg

-51% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Murray-Lasaine Montessori compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Murray-Lasaine Montessori

Murray-Lasaine Montessori is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Charleston, South Carolina, enrolling 347 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.1:1 puts it in the larger third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 36.4% free-meal eligibility runs 51% below the South Carolina average.

Enrollment of 347 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.

Against 28 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #6.

Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 347 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Attendance holds up well here: only 8.1% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Among Charleston's public schools, it stands alongside Orange Grove Charter School (1,170 students): Murray-Lasaine Montessori is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.1:1 vs 15.8:1).

Charleston 01 also operates Wando High (2,588 students) and Rb Stall High (2,135 students) alongside Murray-Lasaine Montessori.

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 Murray-Lasaine Montessori compares

Murray-Lasaine Montessori 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 15.1:1 ▲ 6% 14.3:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 36.4% ▼ 51% 74.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 347 top 79% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
347
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
36.4%
free-lunch eligible - 51% below the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.1:1
students per teacher - 6% above state mean
Top 65% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
8.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$15,213
per pupil, district-wide - above South Carolina avg of $14,558
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 347 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: 1.4 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 81.6%
African American 8.1%
Hispanic or Latino 6.3%
Two or More 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: White at 81.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.2, Murray-Lasaine Montessori is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charleston 01, which includes Murray-Lasaine Montessori.

$15,213
Per student
+4%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 59.0%
State 27.7%
Federal 13.3%

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 Murray-Lasaine Montessori Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Wando High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Rb Stall High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
West Ashley High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lucy Garrett Beckham High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
James Island Charter High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Murray-Lasaine Montessori's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Charleston 01 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Charleston

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Murray-Lasaine Montessori's federal record.

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 Murray-Lasaine Montessori

How many students attend Murray-Lasaine Montessori?

Murray-Lasaine Montessori has 347 students enrolled. It is a public school in Charleston, SC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Murray-Lasaine Montessori?

The student-teacher ratio at Murray-Lasaine Montessori is 15.1:1, which is 6% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Murray-Lasaine Montessori?

36.4% of students at Murray-Lasaine Montessori are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Murray-Lasaine Montessori?

The largest demographic group at Murray-Lasaine Montessori is White at 81.6% of enrollment, in Charleston, SC.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Murray-Lasaine Montessori?

Murray-Lasaine Montessori has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher 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 Murray-Lasaine Montessori rank among schools in Charleston?

By Resource Investment Index, Murray-Lasaine Montessori ranks #5 of 21 schools in Charleston, SC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Charleston on the city page.

Is Murray-Lasaine Montessori a good school?

Murray-Lasaine Montessori earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the South Carolina median. 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 Charleston 01?

Besides Murray-Lasaine Montessori, Charleston 01 also operates Wando High (2,588 students), Rb Stall High (2,135 students), and West Ashley High (2,069 students). See the Charleston 01 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.