Enrollment
792
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370090002720
Shelby High — Shelby, NC
Federal NCES profile for Shelby High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 36
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 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: Cleveland 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)
52.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.3%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shelby 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
Shelby High reports 792 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 52.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% 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 0% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 63.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 4% below the North Carolina average and 22% above the national baseline. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 264 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 48.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cleveland County Schools spends $12,545 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 21.4% from local sources (property taxes), 59.1% from the state, and 19.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), 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 Shelby 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 | 15.9:1 | ▼ 3% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.3% | ▼ 4% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 792 | top 82% | — | — |
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
63.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 4% below 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
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 3% below state mean
Top 62% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 38% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
48.5%
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
$12,545
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 264 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
132
in-school suspensions + 140 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 34.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 792 Top 82% in North Carolina — larger than 18% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 52.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 -3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 63.3% -4% vs state
NCES ID 370090002720
Student demographics
African American 52.7%
White 29.2%
Hispanic or Latino 10.0%
Two or More 6.8%
Asian 1.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 52.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 264:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 48.5%
In-school suspensions 132
Out-of-school suspensions 140
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cleveland County Schools, which includes Shelby High.
$12,545
Per student
-4%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 21.4%
State 59.1%
Federal 19.5%
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
- 1,305
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,098
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 928
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 810
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 744
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
Similar high schools in Shelby
2 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 Shelby High
How many students attend Shelby High?
Shelby High has 792 students enrolled. It is a high school in Shelby, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shelby High?
The student-teacher ratio at Shelby High is 15.9:1, which is 3% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 0% higher 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 Shelby High?
63.3% of students at Shelby High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shelby High?
The largest demographic group at Shelby High is African American at 52.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Shelby, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shelby High?
Shelby High has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) 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.