Enrollment
415
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Ash, NC
Waccamaw
Federal NCES profile for Waccamaw, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 370042000131
👥 S:T ratio 43
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 17
📋 Attendance 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Waccamaw earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the North Carolina median.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.3:1
- students per teacher
- 99.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 415
- students enrolled
Waccamaw has class sizes near the North Carolina median. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Brunswick County Schools · North Carolina
NCES ID 370042000131 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.3%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
+50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Waccamaw compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Waccamaw
Waccamaw is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Ash, North Carolina, enrolling 415 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 14.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 99.3% of students eligible for free meals.
With 415 students, its enrollment sits close to the North Carolina median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.
Against 519 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #182.
Its student body is led by White (57%) and Hispanic or Latino (26%) (diversity index 60/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 415 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 28.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 84 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 415 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Among Ash's elementary schools, it stands alongside Jessie Mae Monroe Elementary (390 students): Waccamaw is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.3:1 vs 15:1).
Brunswick County Schools also operates North Brunswick High (1,620 students) and West Brunswick High (1,466 students) alongside Waccamaw.
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 Waccamaw compares
Waccamaw 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 | 14.3:1 | ▼ 9% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.3% | ▲ 50% | 66.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 415 | top 61% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.3:1
Leaner classes than 54% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
415
Bigger than 50% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 50% 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
14.3:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 39% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
28.0%
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
$12,819
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 415 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
46
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.2 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 56.6%
Hispanic or Latino 26.3%
African American 11.8%
Two or More 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 56.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.5, Waccamaw is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Brunswick County Schools, which includes Waccamaw.
$12,819
Per student
+7%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.5%
State 46.4%
Federal 19.1%
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 Waccamaw Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Brunswick High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Brunswick High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Brunswick High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Belville Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Leland Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Waccamaw's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,620
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 1,466
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 1,154
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 812
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 806
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
Similar elementary schools in Ash
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 (~415 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Waccamaw's federal record.
- Compare Waccamaw against another school. Compare schools
- Brunswick 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 Waccamaw
How many students attend Waccamaw?
Waccamaw has 415 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Ash, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Waccamaw?
The student-teacher ratio at Waccamaw is 14.3:1, which is 9% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 9% 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 Waccamaw?
99.3% of students at Waccamaw are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Waccamaw?
The largest demographic group at Waccamaw is White at 56.6% of enrollment, in Ash, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Waccamaw?
Waccamaw has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Waccamaw a good school?
Waccamaw earns 40/100 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 Brunswick County Schools?
Besides Waccamaw, Brunswick County Schools also operates North Brunswick High (1,620 students), West Brunswick High (1,466 students), and South Brunswick High (1,154 students). See the Brunswick 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.