Enrollment
786
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Pineville, NC
Sterling Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Sterling Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370297001279
👥 S:T ratio 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 21
📋 Attendance 4
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sterling Elementary earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 73% of North Carolina schools.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.1:1
- large classes for North Carolina
- 99.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 786
- students enrolled
Sterling Elementary has class sizes larger than 73% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370297001279 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.1:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
+8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.6%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
+51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sterling Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sterling Elementary
Sterling Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Pineville, North Carolina, enrolling 786 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 17.1:1 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 99.6% of students qualify for free meals, 51% above the North Carolina average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 786 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 377 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #256.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (73%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 42/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 393 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 38.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 15.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also operates Myers Park High School (3,225 students) and Ardrey Kell High School (3,036 students) alongside Sterling 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 Sterling Elementary compares
Sterling 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 | 17.1:1 | ▲ 8% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.6% | ▲ 51% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 786 | top 18% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.1:1
Leaner classes than 30% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
786
Bigger than 85% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% above the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.1:1
students per teacher
- 8% above state mean
Top 73% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
38.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,853
per pupil, district-wide
- below North Carolina avg of $12,017
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 393 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
34
in-school suspensions + 16 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.4 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
Hispanic or Latino 73.4%
African American 20.5%
White 3.6%
Two or More 2.2%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 73.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 41.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 41.7, Sterling Elementary is less mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which includes Sterling Elementary.
$11,853
Per student
-1%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.2%
State 52.1%
Federal 15.6%
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 Sterling Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myers Park High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Ardrey Kell High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| South Mecklenburg High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| William Amos Hough High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Mecklenburg High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sterling Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,225
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 3,036
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 2,534
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 2,518
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 2,422
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
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 (~786 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sterling Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Sterling Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg 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 Sterling Elementary
How many students attend Sterling Elementary?
Sterling Elementary has 786 students enrolled. It is a public school in Pineville, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sterling Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Sterling Elementary is 17.1:1, which is 8% higher than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sterling Elementary?
99.6% of students at Sterling Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sterling Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Sterling Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 73.4% of enrollment, in Pineville, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sterling Elementary?
Sterling Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical 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 Sterling Elementary a good school?
Sterling Elementary earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 73% of North Carolina schools. 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 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?
Besides Sterling Elementary, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also operates Myers Park High School (3,225 students), Ardrey Kell High School (3,036 students), and South Mecklenburg High School (2,534 students). See the Charlotte-Mecklenburg 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.