Enrollment
215
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370357002906
Pender Early College High — Burgaw, NC
Federal NCES profile for Pender Early College High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 10
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 57
📋 Attendance 99
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: Pender 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)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.6:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+38% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.5%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pender Early College 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
Pender Early College High reports 215 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 9.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 38% above the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 51% below the North Carolina average and 37% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 215 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 0.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pender County Schools spends $12,071 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.0% from local sources (property taxes), 56.8% from the state, and 21.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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 Pender Early College 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 | 22.6:1 | ▲ 38% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.5% | ▼ 51% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 215 | top 13% | — | — |
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
32.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 51% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.6:1
students per teacher
— 38% above state mean
Top 95% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
0.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$12,071
per pupil, district-wide
— below North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 215 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 215 Top 13% in North Carolina — larger than 87% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 9.0
Students per teacher 22.6:1 +38% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.5% -51% vs state
NCES ID 370357002906
Student demographics
White 65.1%
Hispanic or Latino 23.3%
Two or More 5.6%
African American 4.7%
Asian 1.4%
Largest group: White at 65.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 215:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 0.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pender County Schools, which includes Pender Early College High.
$12,071
Per student
-7%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-38%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.0%
State 56.8%
Federal 21.2%
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
- 1,945
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Enrollment
- 857
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 837
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 752
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 732
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar high schools in Burgaw
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Pender Early College High
How many students attend Pender Early College High?
Pender Early College High has 215 students enrolled. It is a high school in Burgaw, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pender Early College High?
The student-teacher ratio at Pender Early College High is 22.6:1, which is 38% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pender Early College High?
32.5% of students at Pender Early College High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pender Early College High?
The largest demographic group at Pender Early College High is White at 65.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Burgaw, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pender Early College High?
Pender Early College High has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) based on 5 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.