Enrollment
402
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 370045303508 Charter school
West Lake Preparatory Academy — Denver, NC
Federal NCES profile for West Lake Preparatory Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 75
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: West Lake Preparatory Academy · 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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.1%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How West Lake Preparatory Academy 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
West Lake Preparatory Academy reports 402 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% 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 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the North Carolina average and 42% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 402 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding West Lake Preparatory Academy spends $18,447 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.4% from local sources (property taxes), 66.1% from the state, and 3.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), 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 West Lake Preparatory Academy 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 | 15.3:1 | ▼ 7% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.1% | ▼ 54% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 402 | top 37% | — | — |
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
30.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% 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
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 54% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
10.0%
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
$18,447
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 402 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 402 Top 37% in North Carolina — larger than 63% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.1% -54% vs state
NCES ID 370045303508
Student demographics
White 51.0%
Hispanic or Latino 22.4%
African American 18.7%
Two or More 7.2%
Asian 0.7%
Largest group: White at 51.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 402:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.0%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for West Lake Preparatory Academy, which includes West Lake Preparatory Academy.
$18,447
Per student
+41%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.4%
State 66.1%
Federal 3.5%
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.
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 West Lake Preparatory Academy
How many students attend West Lake Preparatory Academy?
West Lake Preparatory Academy has 402 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Denver, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at West Lake Preparatory Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at West Lake Preparatory Academy is 15.3:1, which is 7% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 4% 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 West Lake Preparatory Academy?
30.1% of students at West Lake Preparatory Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of West Lake Preparatory Academy?
The largest demographic group at West Lake Preparatory Academy is White at 51.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Denver, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for West Lake Preparatory Academy?
West Lake Preparatory Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) 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.