Enrollment
272
High
DISTRICT 738 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370256002868
Lee Early College
1105 Kelly Drive, Sanford, NC 27330 · (919) 888-4502 · Lee County
GRADES 09–13HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL272 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 93% of North Carolina public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public high schools
Student : Teacher
39.6:1
7 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.7:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
269 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 82%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 62 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 60 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 55 | 20% |
| Grade 12 | 58 | 21% |
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
88.2%
NC avg 50.9%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 88 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level. The North Carolina average is about 51 of 100.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
82.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+33.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 83% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 34 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Lee Early College
Lee Early College's state test result (82.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Early College this school | 272 | 98.9% | 82.5% |
| Wayne Early / Middle College High Goldsboro | 239 | 98.7% | 88.8% |
| Greene Early College High Snow Hill | 166 | 98.2% | 65.2% |
| Hobbton High Newton Grove | 467 | 99.4% | 36.9% |
| Sampson Early College High Clinton | 229 | 98.7% | 89.9% |
| Duplin Early College High Kenansville | 199 | 98.5% | 68.7% |
Matched among North Carolina high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Lee Early College ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Lee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 82.5% | #40 of 468 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 88.2% | #43 of 448 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 272 | #422 of 598 | #5 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 39.6:1 | #467 of 473 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.3% | #232 of 474 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.9% | #206 of 527 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.1% | #158 of 277 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
272
-31 (-10%) vs 2020
+3% since 2010-11, when it was 265
Student : Teacher
39.6:1
was 27.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 272 | 6.9 | 39.6:1 | 99% (269) |
| 2023-24 | 263 | 12 | 21.9:1 | 55% (145) |
| 2022-23 | 272 | 12 | 22.7:1 | 44% (119) |
| 2020-21 | 303 | 11 | 27.6:1 | 31% (95) |
| 2017-18 | 296 | 12 | 24.7:1 | 51% (150) |
| 2015-16 | 286 | 12 | 23.8:1 | 53% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 265 | 11 | 24.1:1 | 46% (122) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Lee Early College.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (296 to 272); teachers down 43% (12 to 6.9).
About Lee Early College
Sanford, North Carolina, is home to Lee Early College, a very small high school. It enrolls 272 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 9 through 13. It has 64% fewer students than the average for high schools in North Carolina (about 761).
Lee County Schools has 16 schools; together they serve 9,168 students.
More than half of enrollment at Lee Early College is Hispanic: 53%. Other groups make up 31% White, 8% Black, 5% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Lee County as a whole is about 22% Hispanic, so the school's share is higher. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 61%.
Lee Early College has a student-to-teacher ratio of 39.6:1, with 6.9 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for high schools in North Carolina is 19.6:1, so this school has more students per teacher. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 99% at Lee Early College.
On the allk12 Grade, Lee Early College lands at A, ahead of 93% of North Carolina public high schools.
In North Carolina, Lee Early College is one of the top 10% of schools on BeatsExpectations, with an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 82.5% compared with a predicted 48.6%.
For the population of Lee County, median household income comes to about $65,387, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of people live in poverty. Lee County's 20 public schools enroll about 10,641 students and include Lee Early College.
Among nearby public schools, Lee County High is closest at about 0.3 miles. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. By average proficiency, Lee Early College is 1st among 5 schools close by.
The school is in a town some distance from an urbanized area, according to its NCES locale (Town: Distant).
In 2020-21, Lee Early College enrolled 303 students. By 2024-25, that number had fallen to 272. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 27.6:1; by 2024-25 it was 39.6:1.
On allk12, people connected to Lee Early College can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Lee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,816
Census ACS
Median income
$65,387
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
10,641 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lee County Schools
- Lee County HighHigh · 1,459 students
- Southern Lee High SchoolHigh · 1,180 students
- SanLee Middle SchoolMiddle · 792 students
- WB Wicker ElementaryElementary · 588 students
- J Glenn Edwards ElementaryElementary · 587 students
- Greenwood ElementaryElementary · 571 students
Other schools in Sanford
- Lee County HighHigh · 1,459 students
- Southern Lee High SchoolHigh · 1,180 students
- Benhaven ElementaryElementary · 1,065 students
- Highland ElementaryElementary · 854 students
- SanLee Middle SchoolMiddle · 792 students
- Highland MiddleMiddle · 762 students
Nearby schools
- Lee County High0.3 mi · 1,459
- Bragg Street Academy1.1 mi · 40
- Rising Leaders Academy1.4 mi · 282
- Floyd L Knight Children Center1.4 mi · 95
- East Lee Middle1.9 mi · 526
- WB Wicker Elementary2.2 mi · 588
Frequently asked questions
About Lee Early CollegeWhat is the total enrollment at Lee Early College?
Lee Early College enrolls approximately 272 students in grades 09-13.
Is Lee Early College an elementary, middle, or high school?
Lee Early College is a high school covering grades 09-13.
How many students per teacher at Lee Early College?
Approximately 39.6:1 students per teacher at Lee Early College.
How diverse is Lee Early College?
Lee Early College reports a student body of 31% White, 53% Hispanic, 8% Black, 3% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Lee Early College in?
Lee Early College is part of Lee County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.