Enrollment
379
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 370309001325
Sandhills Farm Life Elementary — Carthage, NC
Federal NCES profile for Sandhills Farm Life Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 24
📋 Attendance 36
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: Moore 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)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.9%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-62% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sandhills Farm Life 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
Sandhills Farm Life Elementary reports 379 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 26.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% 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 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 62% below the North Carolina average and 52% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 379 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Moore County Schools spends $11,884 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.6% from local sources (property taxes), 57.2% from the state, and 19.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Sandhills Farm Life 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 | 15.2:1 | ▼ 7% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.9% | ▼ 62% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 379 | top 33% | — | — |
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
24.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 62% 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
15.2:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 53% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.6%
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
$11,884
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 379 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 379 Top 33% in North Carolina — larger than 67% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 26.0
Students per teacher 15.2:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.9% -62% vs state
NCES ID 370309001325
Student demographics
White 75.7%
Two or More 10.8%
Hispanic or Latino 6.1%
African American 5.5%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 75.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 379:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.6%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Moore County Schools, which includes Sandhills Farm Life Elementary.
$11,884
Per student
-9%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-39%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.6%
State 57.2%
Federal 19.2%
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
- 2,290
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 1,462
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 717
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 707
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 675
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
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 Sandhills Farm Life Elementary
How many students attend Sandhills Farm Life Elementary?
Sandhills Farm Life Elementary has 379 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Carthage, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sandhills Farm Life Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sandhills Farm Life Elementary is 15.2:1, which is 7% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 4% 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 Sandhills Farm Life Elementary?
24.9% of students at Sandhills Farm Life Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sandhills Farm Life Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sandhills Farm Life Elementary is White at 75.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Carthage, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sandhills Farm Life Elementary?
Sandhills Farm Life Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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.