Enrollment
62
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Lake Waccamaw, NC
Thomas Academy
Federal NCES profile for Thomas Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 370034903299Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 69
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 94
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Thomas Academy earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of North Carolina schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in North Carolina.
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 7.8:1
- small classes for North Carolina
- 62
- students enrolled
Thomas Academy has class sizes smaller than 97% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Thomas Academy · North Carolina
NCES ID 370034903299 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7.8:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Thomas Academy compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Thomas Academy
Thomas Academy is a small charter combined-grade school in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, enrolling 62 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 7.8:1, Thomas Academy is leaner than roughly 97% of North Carolina schools and 51% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 98% of North Carolina schools, with 62 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Its student body is led by African American (27%) and White (26%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 76/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 31 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 53.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Thomas Academy spends $16,103 per pupil, 34% above the North Carolina average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 41.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Lake Waccamaw's public schools, it stands alongside East Columbus Junior-Senior High (576 students): Thomas Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (7.8:1 vs 15.2:1).
Thomas Academy is a single-school charter district, so Thomas Academy operates independently rather than alongside district-mates. At 62 students, it is also a small operation, on the smaller end of North Carolina's single-school districts.
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 Thomas Academy compares
Thomas Academy 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 | 7.8:1 | ▼ 51% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 62 | top 98% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
7.8:1
Leaner classes than 95% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
62
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
7.8:1
students per teacher
- 51% below state mean
Top 3% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 97% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
53.2%
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
$16,103
per pupil, district-wide
- above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 31 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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
African American 27.4%
White 25.8%
Hispanic or Latino 22.6%
Two or More 21.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.2%
Largest group: African American at 27.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 76.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 76.2, Thomas Academy is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Thomas Academy, which includes Thomas Academy.
$16,103
Per student
+34%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 8.1%
State 50.1%
Federal 41.8%
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.
Similar other schools in Lake Waccamaw
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 (~62 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Thomas Academy's federal record.
- Compare Thomas Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Thomas Academy'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 Thomas Academy
How many students attend Thomas Academy?
Thomas Academy has 62 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Lake Waccamaw, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thomas Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Thomas Academy is 7.8:1, which is 51% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 50% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thomas Academy?
The largest demographic group at Thomas Academy is African American at 27.4% of enrollment, in Lake Waccamaw, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 76.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Thomas Academy?
Thomas Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Thomas Academy a good school?
Thomas Academy earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 97% of North Carolina schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in North Carolina. 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 Thomas Academy?
None; Thomas Academy is a single-school charter district, and Thomas Academy is its only campus.
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.