Enrollment
453
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 370150002293
The Downtown School — Winston Salem, NC
Federal NCES profile for The Downtown School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 53
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 9
📋 Attendance 74
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: Winston Salem / Forsyth 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)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.7:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
23.2%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How The Downtown School 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
The Downtown School reports 453 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 35.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% 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 26% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 65% below the North Carolina average and 55% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 453 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools spends $14,195 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.3% from local sources (property taxes), 52.1% from the state, and 22.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-), 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 The Downtown School 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 | 11.7:1 | ▼ 29% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.2% | ▼ 65% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 453 | top 44% | — | — |
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
23.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 65% 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
11.7:1
students per teacher
— 29% below state mean
Top 10% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
10.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,195
per pupil, district-wide
— above 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 453 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 453 Top 44% in North Carolina — larger than 56% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 35.0
Students per teacher 11.7:1 -29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 23.2% -65% vs state
NCES ID 370150002293
Student demographics
White 46.6%
African American 34.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.1%
Two or More 7.9%
Asian 1.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 46.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 453:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.6%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools, which includes The Downtown School.
$14,195
Per student
+9%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.3%
State 52.1%
Federal 22.5%
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
- 2,145
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,122
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,759
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,647
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,569
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
Similar other schools in Winston Salem
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Speas Elementary
Standard public school
793 students 15.3:1 students per teacher
Sherwood Forest Elementary
Standard public school
670 students 14.1:1 students per teacher
Griffith Elementary
Standard public school
621 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Old Town Elementary
Standard public school
617 students 12.4:1 students per teacher
Konnoak Elementary
Standard public school
600 students 14.8:1 students per teacher
Paisley Ib Magnet School
Standard public school
553 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
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 The Downtown School
How many students attend The Downtown School?
The Downtown School has 453 students enrolled. It is a other school in Winston Salem, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Downtown School?
The student-teacher ratio at The Downtown School is 11.7:1, which is 29% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 26% 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 The Downtown School?
23.2% of students at The Downtown School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of The Downtown School?
The largest demographic group at The Downtown School is White at 46.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Winston Salem, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for The Downtown School?
The Downtown School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) 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.