Middle school (grades 6-8) · Wilmington, NC

Williston Middle

Federal NCES profile for Williston Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 370333001394
0/100100/10044/100
👥 S:T ratio
50
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
56
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Williston Middle earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of North Carolina schools.

#4 of 6
middle schools in Wilmington · Resource Index
44
Resource Index · Typical
12.6:1
small classes for North Carolina
99.4%
free-lunch eligible

Williston Middle has class sizes smaller than 83% of North Carolina schools. Computed live against every North Carolina school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Williston Middle ranks #4 of 6 middle schools in Wilmington, NC.

Enrollment

666

North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

53.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.6:1

vs 15.8:1 North Carolina avg

-20% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

99.4%

vs 66.0% North Carolina avg

+51% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Williston Middle compares with North Carolina and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Williston Middle

Williston Middle is a high-poverty, mid-sized middle school in Wilmington, North Carolina, enrolling 666 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of North Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 99.4% of students qualify for free meals, 51% above the North Carolina average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 666 puts it in the larger third of North Carolina schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,698 scored North Carolina schools.

Against 480 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #58.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (41%) and African American (40%) (diversity index 65/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 222 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 60.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 18.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 338 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 666 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Among Wilmington's middle schools, it stands alongside Charles P Murray Middle (907 students): Williston Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.6:1 vs 17.1:1).

New Hanover County Schools also operates Emsley a Laney High (2,243 students) and John T Hoggard High (2,082 students) alongside Williston Middle.

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 Williston Middle compares

Williston Middle 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 12.6:1 ▼ 20% 15.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 99.4% ▲ 51% 66.0% 51.7%
Enrollment 666 top 27% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.6:1
Leaner classes than 70% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
666
Bigger than 78% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
99.4%
free-lunch eligible - 51% above the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.6:1
students per teacher - 20% below state mean
Top 17% in North Carolina - lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
60.1%
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
$13,724
per pupil, district-wide - above North Carolina avg of $12,017
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 222 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
190
in-school suspensions + 148 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 28.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 50.8 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

Hispanic or Latino 41.1%
African American 40.4%
White 12.0%
Two or More 5.0%
Asian 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 41.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 65.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 65.1, Williston Middle is more mixed than the North Carolina school average of 56.1.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for New Hanover County Schools, which includes Williston Middle.

$13,724
Per student
+14%
vs North Carolina
Avg $12,017
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.4%
State 51.7%
Federal 18.8%

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.

How Williston Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Emsley a Laney High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
John T Hoggard High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Eugene Ashley High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
New Hanover High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Charles P Murray Middle Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Williston Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

New Hanover County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Wilmington

5 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Williston Middle's federal record.

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 Williston Middle

How many students attend Williston Middle?

Williston Middle has 666 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Wilmington, NC.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Williston Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Williston Middle is 12.6:1, which is 20% lower than the North Carolina average of 15.8:1 and 20% 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 Williston Middle?

99.4% of students at Williston Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Williston Middle?

The largest demographic group at Williston Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 41.1% of enrollment, in Wilmington, NC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.1/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Williston Middle?

Williston Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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).

How does Williston Middle rank among middle schools in Wilmington?

By Resource Investment Index, Williston Middle ranks #4 of 6 middle schools in Wilmington, NC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Wilmington on the city page.

Is Williston Middle a good school?

Williston Middle earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of North Carolina schools. 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 New Hanover County Schools?

Besides Williston Middle, New Hanover County Schools also operates Emsley a Laney High (2,243 students), John T Hoggard High (2,082 students), and Eugene Ashley High (1,893 students). See the New Hanover County Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.