Enrollment
600
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 370072000302
Phillips Middle — Chapel Hill, NC
Federal NCES profile for Phillips Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
👥 Class size 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 53
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: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City 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)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.9:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.2%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Phillips Middle 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
Phillips Middle reports 600 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 56.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 34% 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 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 57% below the North Carolina average and 46% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 200 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spends $17,566 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 46.2% from local sources (property taxes), 43.3% from the state, and 10.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+), calculated from 4 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 Phillips Middle 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 | 10.9:1 | ▼ 34% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.2% | ▼ 57% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 600 | top 65% | — | — |
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
28.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 57% 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
10.9:1
students per teacher
— 34% below state mean
Top 6% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
18.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$17,566
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 200 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 600 Top 65% in North Carolina — larger than 35% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 56.0
Students per teacher 10.9:1 -34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.2% -57% vs state
NCES ID 370072000302
Student demographics
White 45.3%
Asian 21.8%
African American 14.3%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
Two or More 8.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 45.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 200:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.7%
In-school suspensions 6
Out-of-school suspensions 38
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, which includes Phillips Middle.
$17,566
Per student
+35%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 46.2%
State 43.3%
Federal 10.5%
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
- 1,608
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,419
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 885
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 763
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Enrollment
- 659
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
Similar middle schools in Chapel Hill
4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Smith Middle
Standard public school
763 students 13:1 students per teacher
Margaret B. Pollard Middle
Standard public school
736 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Mcdougle Middle
Standard public school
659 students 11.9:1 students per teacher
Culbreth Middle
Standard public school
632 students 13.1:1 students per teacher
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 Phillips Middle
How many students attend Phillips Middle?
Phillips Middle has 600 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Chapel Hill, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Phillips Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Phillips Middle is 10.9:1, which is 34% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 31% 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 Phillips Middle?
28.2% of students at Phillips Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Phillips Middle?
The largest demographic group at Phillips Middle is White at 45.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Chapel Hill, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Phillips Middle?
Phillips Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+) based on 4 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.