Enrollment
666
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 370333003520
Porters Neck Elementary — Wilmington, NC
Federal NCES profile for Porters Neck Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 40
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 72
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: New Hanover 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)
40.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.1:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
23.1%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Porters Neck Elementary 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
Porters Neck Elementary reports 666 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 40.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% 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 5% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 65% below the North Carolina average and 55% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 666 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding New Hanover County Schools spends $14,481 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 29.4% from local sources (property taxes), 51.7% from the state, and 18.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), 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 Porters Neck Elementary 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 | 15.1:1 | ▼ 8% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.1% | ▼ 65% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 666 | top 73% | — | — |
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
23.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 65% 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
15.1:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 51% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
11.3%
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
$14,481
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 666 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 666 Top 73% in North Carolina — larger than 27% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 40.0
Students per teacher 15.1:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 23.1% -65% vs state
NCES ID 370333003520
Student demographics
White 79.6%
Hispanic or Latino 8.7%
African American 4.5%
Two or More 4.4%
Asian 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 79.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 666:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.3%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for New Hanover County Schools, which includes Porters Neck Elementary.
$14,481
Per student
+11%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 29.4%
State 51.7%
Federal 18.8%
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
- 2,243
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,082
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,893
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,437
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Enrollment
- 907
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
Similar elementary schools in Wilmington
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Ogden Elementary
Standard public school
619 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
Masonboro Elementary
Standard public school
564 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Heyward C Bellamy Elem
Standard public school
533 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
The International School at Gregory
Standard public school
514 students 13.1:1 students per teacher
Edwin a Anderson Elementary
Standard public school
514 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
College Park Elementary
Standard public school
470 students 12.7:1 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 Porters Neck Elementary
How many students attend Porters Neck Elementary?
Porters Neck Elementary has 666 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Wilmington, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Porters Neck Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Porters Neck Elementary is 15.1:1, which is 8% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 5% 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 Porters Neck Elementary?
23.1% of students at Porters Neck Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Porters Neck Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Porters Neck Elementary is White at 79.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Wilmington, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Porters Neck Elementary?
Porters Neck Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) 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.