Enrollment
265
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370495003125
Wilkes Early College High School — Wilkesboro, NC
Federal NCES profile for Wilkes Early College High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 0
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 93
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: Wilkes 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)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
28.6:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+74% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.0%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wilkes Early College High 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
Wilkes Early College High School reports 265 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 9.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 28.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 74% above the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 80% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% below the North Carolina average and 46% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 265 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 3.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Wilkes County Schools spends $12,482 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.8% from local sources (property taxes), 59.5% from the state, and 19.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Wilkes Early College High 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 | 28.6:1 | ▲ 74% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.0% | ▼ 58% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 265 | top 19% | — | — |
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
28.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% 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
28.6:1
students per teacher
— 74% above state mean
Top 98% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 2% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
3.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$12,482
per pupil, district-wide
— below 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 265 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 265 Top 19% in North Carolina — larger than 81% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 9.0
Students per teacher 28.6:1 +74% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.0% -58% vs state
NCES ID 370495003125
Student demographics
White 77.4%
Hispanic or Latino 13.6%
Two or More 4.2%
Asian 2.6%
African American 2.3%
Largest group: White at 77.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 265:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 3.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wilkes County Schools, which includes Wilkes Early College High School.
$12,482
Per student
-4%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.8%
State 59.5%
Federal 19.7%
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
- 719
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 699
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 582
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 578
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 564
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
Similar high schools in Wilkesboro
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Wilkes Early College High School
How many students attend Wilkes Early College High School?
Wilkes Early College High School has 265 students enrolled. It is a high school in Wilkesboro, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wilkes Early College High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wilkes Early College High School is 28.6:1, which is 74% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 80% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wilkes Early College High School?
28.0% of students at Wilkes Early College High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wilkes Early College High School?
The largest demographic group at Wilkes Early College High School is White at 77.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Wilkesboro, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wilkes Early College High School?
Wilkes Early College High School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) based on 5 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.