Enrollment
272
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Star, NC
Star Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Star Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370306002099
👥 S:T ratio 40
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 52
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Star Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.1:1
- students per teacher
- 72.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 272
- students enrolled
Star Elementary has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Montgomery County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370306002099 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.1:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.1%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
+9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Star Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Star Elementary
Star Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Star, North Carolina, enrolling 272 students.
At 15.1:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the North Carolina median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 72.1% lands close to the North Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 272 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 144 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #22.
Its student body is led by White (52%) and Hispanic or Latino (37%) (diversity index 59/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 272 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.1% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 27.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Montgomery County Schools also operates Montgomery Central High (846 students) and East Middle (422 students) alongside Star Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Star Elementary compares
Star Elementary on the metrics families compare, against North Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.1:1 | ▼ 4% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.1% | ▲ 9% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 272 | top 80% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.1:1
Leaner classes than 46% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
272
Bigger than 28% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
72.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 9% above 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
15.1:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 50% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 50% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
19.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,181
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 272 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 51.5%
Hispanic or Latino 37.1%
Two or More 7.0%
African American 3.7%
Asian 0.7%
Largest group: White at 51.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.1, Star Elementary is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Montgomery County Schools, which includes Star Elementary.
$14,181
Per student
+18%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.8%
State 53.3%
Federal 27.9%
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.
How Star Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Central High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Candor Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Troy Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Star Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 846
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 422
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 343
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of North Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~272 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Star Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Star Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Montgomery County Schools's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Star Elementary
How many students attend Star Elementary?
Star Elementary has 272 students enrolled. It is a public school in Star, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Star Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Star Elementary is 15.1:1, which is 4% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Star Elementary?
72.1% of students at Star Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Star Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Star Elementary is White at 51.5% of enrollment, in Star, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Star Elementary?
Star Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Star Elementary a good school?
Star Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Montgomery County Schools?
Besides Star Elementary, Montgomery County Schools also operates Montgomery Central High (846 students), East Middle (422 students), and Candor Elementary (368 students). See the Montgomery County Schools district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.