Enrollment
215
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Whitakers, NC
Swift Creek Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Swift Creek Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 370327001357
👥 S:T ratio 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 57
📋 Attendance 36
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Swift Creek Elementary earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 16.5:1
- students per teacher
- 54.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 215
- students enrolled
Swift Creek Elementary has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Nash County Public Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370327001357 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
13.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
54.0%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Swift Creek Elementary compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Swift Creek Elementary
Swift Creek Elementary is a higher-need, small elementary school in Whitakers, North Carolina, enrolling 215 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.5:1 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 54.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 215 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 155 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #73.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 215 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 25.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Nash County Public Schools also operates Southern Nash High (1,048 students) and Northern Nash High (1,035 students) alongside Swift Creek 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 Swift Creek Elementary compares
Swift Creek 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 | 16.5:1 | ▲ 4% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 54.0% | ▼ 18% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 215 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.5:1
Leaner classes than 34% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
215
Bigger than 21% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
54.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 18% 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
16.5:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 68% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.6%
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
$12,090
per pupil, district-wide
- above 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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 215 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.8 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.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Nash County Public Schools, which includes Swift Creek Elementary.
$12,090
Per student
+1%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 14.1%
State 60.8%
Federal 25.1%
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 Swift Creek Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Nash High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Northern Nash High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rocky Mount High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Red Oak Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southern Nash Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Swift Creek Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,048
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 1,035
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,023
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 840
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 795
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
Similar elementary 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 (~215 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Swift Creek Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Swift Creek Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Nash County Public 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 Swift Creek Elementary
How many students attend Swift Creek Elementary?
Swift Creek Elementary has 215 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Whitakers, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Swift Creek Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Swift Creek Elementary is 16.5:1, which is 4% higher than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Swift Creek Elementary?
54.0% of students at Swift Creek Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Swift Creek Elementary?
Swift Creek Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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 Swift Creek Elementary a good school?
Swift Creek Elementary earns 49/100 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 Nash County Public Schools?
Besides Swift Creek Elementary, Nash County Public Schools also operates Southern Nash High (1,048 students), Northern Nash High (1,035 students), and Rocky Mount High (1,023 students). See the Nash County Public 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.