Enrollment
648
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370357001466
Pender High — Burgaw, NC
Federal NCES profile for Pender High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 20
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 0
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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.9:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
66.5%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
+1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pender 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 High reports 648 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% 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 25% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 66.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 1% above the North Carolina average and 28% above the national baseline. The school offers 5 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 324 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 44.3% 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 30/100 (F), 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 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 | 19.9:1 | ▲ 21% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 66.5% | ▲ 1% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 648 | 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
66.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 1% above 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
19.9:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 92% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
44.3%
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
$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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 324 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
106
in-school suspensions + 67 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 26.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 648 Top 70% in North Carolina — larger than 30% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 19.9:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 66.5% +1% vs state
NCES ID 370357001466
Student demographics
White 40.9%
African American 31.0%
Hispanic or Latino 23.3%
Two or More 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 40.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 324:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 44.3%
In-school suspensions 106
Out-of-school suspensions 67
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pender County Schools, which includes Pender 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 High
How many students attend Pender High?
Pender High has 648 students enrolled. It is a high school in Burgaw, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pender High?
The student-teacher ratio at Pender High is 19.9:1, which is 21% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 25% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pender High?
66.5% of students at Pender High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pender High?
The largest demographic group at Pender High is White at 40.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Burgaw, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pender High?
Pender High has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) 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.