Polk County High School
Public high school, grades 9 to 12 · Columbus, North Carolina
Polk County High School in Columbus, North Carolina enrolled 596 students in 2024-25 with 32.1 full-time teachers, 18.6 students per teacher against the North Carolina high-school median of 18.4. It was eligible for Title I in 2021-22 but ran no program; it takes part in the National School Lunch Program (2024-25). Its four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 was 80-84% (North Carolina: 86.5%).
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 · Title I status CCD 2021-22 · method
Enrollment rose 3% from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers fell 20%
579 students in 2022-23, 593 students in 2023-24, 596 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 40.0 to 32.1.
The numbers as a table
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 579 | 40.0 | 14.5 |
| 2023-24 | 593 | 42.1 | 14.1 |
| 2024-25 | 596 | 32.1 | 18.6 |
18.6 students per teacher, a higher ratio than 52 of every 100 North Carolina high schools
Among the 588 North Carolina high schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 18.4; the national median for high schools is 14.5. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; the comparison counts schools with a 2024-25 teacher count and a ratio from 3 to 99 (lower values are reporting errors).
7 AP courses and one counselor per 192 students in 2021-22
In the 2021-22 civil rights collection Polk County High School enrolled 576 students and had 3.0 counselors (full-time equivalent); it reported 24 out-of-school suspensions that year.
- Advanced Placement courses7
- Gifted and talented programYes
- Counselors (FTE)3.0, one per 192 of the 576 students enrolled in 2021-22
- Out-of-school suspensions24
- Chronically absent29.4% (2022-23)
Who attends
72.7% of students were White, 15.6% Hispanic, 7.0% Black in 2024-25.
- White72.7%
- Hispanic15.6%
- Black7.0%
- Two or more races4.5%
- Asian0.2%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22; chronic absenteeism from EDFacts 2022-23; every count and the counselor ratio are for that school year. Who attends: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25, membership by race and ethnicity.
Graduation rate, class of 2023
80-84% of the 178 students in Polk County High School's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.5% across North Carolina. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and counts those who earned a regular diploma by 2023. Every state computes it the same way under federal law, though each sets its own diploma requirements.
| This school | Its district | North Carolina | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four-year graduation rate | 80‑84% | 80‑84% | 86.5% |
| Students in the class | 178 | 191 | 120,822 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express: ED shows school and district rates as ranges (for example 90-94%) and leaves out small classes.
High schools in Columbus
2 public high schools in Columbus report 2024-25 enrollment; Polk County High School is the largest.
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County High School | 596 | 18.6 | 99.5% |
| Polk County Early College | 52 | 19.0 | 94.2% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.
What to look at next about Polk County High School
- Polk County Early CollegeThe nearest public high school, 0.2 miles away: 52 students, 19.0 per teacher (2024-25).0.2 mi
- Henderson County Career AcademyThe next nearest public high school, 14 miles away: 114 students, 6.5 per teacher (2024-25).14 mi
- Compare Polk County High School with Polk County Early CollegeStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
- How much Polk County Schools spends per student$15,041 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$15,041
- The largest public schools in North CarolinaPolk County High School is the number 311 by size of 601 North Carolina high schools open in 2024-25.#311 of 601
- North Carolina schools by students per teacher18.6 students per teacher here against the North Carolina median of 18.4 for high schools.18.6:1
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (locations, enrollment, teachers); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23. Distances are straight lines between the schools' NCES coordinates, not travel routes.
Questions about Polk County High School
How many students attend Polk County High School?
596 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 579 in 2022-23. It is a high school in Columbus, NC.What is the student-teacher ratio at Polk County High School?
18.6 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the North Carolina median for high schools is 18.4. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.Is Polk County High School a Title I school?
Polk County High School was eligible for Title I in 2021-22 but ran no Title I program (2021-22 is the last year NCES published school Title I status).What is the graduation rate at Polk County High School?
80-84% of the 178 students in Polk County High School's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.5% across North Carolina. The rate counts the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and the share of them with a regular diploma by 2023. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23; ED publishes school rates as ranges to protect small groups.What district is Polk County High School in?
Polk County Schools, NCES district ID 3703720. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 370372000785 are the district's.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23: the class of 2023 for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection School-level files (AP, gifted, counselors, discipline) · 2021-22
District spending on the district page is from the NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23.