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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Southern Lee High School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,180
High
DISTRICT 738 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370256002781
Southern Lee High School
2301 Tramway Road, Sanford, NC 27332 · (919) 718-2400 · Lee County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,180 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 27% of North Carolina public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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
21.0:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.7:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
1,177 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 82%
Community
1
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 | 352 | 30% |
| Grade 10 | 285 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 279 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 264 | 22% |
Student demographics
67%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
41.6%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
21.1%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
35.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 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 Southern Lee High School
Southern Lee High School's state test result (35.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Lee High School this school | 1,180 | 99.7% | 35.0% |
| Lee County High Sanford | 1,459 | 98.9% | 27.1% |
| Forest Hills High Marshville | 973 | 99.3% | 33.2% |
| Southern Nash High Bailey | 1,048 | 99.0% | 43.1% |
| A L Brown High Kannapolis | 1,753 | 99.8% | 23.0% |
| Southern Wayne High Dudley | 1,007 | 97.9% | 34.8% |
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 Southern Lee High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Lee County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #355 of 468 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.1% | #370 of 464 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.6% | #366 of 448 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,180 | #143 of 598 | #2 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.0:1 | #333 of 473 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.9% | #141 of 474 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.7% | #45 of 527 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.1% | #114 of 164 | 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
1,180
-20 (-2%) vs 2020
+7% since 2010-11, when it was 1,102
Student : Teacher
21.0:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 1,180 | 56.2 | 21.0:1 | 100% (1,177) |
| 2023-24 | 1,185 | 76.6 | 15.5:1 | 63% (751) |
| 2022-23 | 1,234 | 75.1 | 16.4:1 | 61% (749) |
| 2020-21 | 1,200 | 75 | 16.0:1 | 41% (488) |
| 2017-18 | 1,123 | 75.9 | 14.8:1 | 60% (678) |
| 2015-16 | 1,174 | 78 | 15.1:1 | 58% (684) |
| 2010-11 | 1,102 | 71 | 15.5:1 | 53% (581) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Lee High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (1,123 to 1,180); teachers down 26% (75.9 to 56.2).
About Southern Lee High School
At 2301 Tramway Road in Sanford, North Carolina, Southern Lee High School operates as a large high school. Enrollment is 1,180 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 9 through 12. Against the 761-student average for high schools in North Carolina, enrollment here is 55% higher.
Lee County Schools runs 16 schools with a combined 9,168 students. Southern Lee High School is one of them.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Southern Lee High School is Hispanic (44%). The remaining students are 31% White, 21% Black, and 3% multiracial. Census figures show Lee County is about 22% Hispanic. The chance that two students picked at random at Southern Lee High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 67%.
The school has about 21.0 students per teacher and 56.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among high schools in North Carolina is 19.6:1, lower than at this school. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch.
The allk12 Grade for Southern Lee High School is C. Compared with North Carolina public high schools, the school scored higher than 27% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Southern Lee High School's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (35.0%) and its predicted rate (48.4%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of North Carolina schools.
In Lee County (population about 65,816), median household income is about $65,387, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 20 public schools operate in Lee County, serving about 10,641 students.
The school nearest to Southern Lee High School is SanLee Middle School, at a distance of about 0.2 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Southern Lee High School is 7th on average proficiency.
Southern Lee High School falls in the Town: Distant locale category, used for schools in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Federal data show 1,200 students in 2020-21 and 1,180 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%. The ratio of students to teachers went from 16.0:1 to 21.0:1 over the same years.
Discussions about Southern Lee High School may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
- SanLee Middle SchoolMiddle · 792 students
- WB Wicker ElementaryElementary · 588 students
- J Glenn Edwards ElementaryElementary · 587 students
- Greenwood ElementaryElementary · 571 students
- Tramway ElementaryElementary · 559 students
Other schools in Sanford
- Lee County HighHigh · 1,459 students
- Benhaven ElementaryElementary · 1,065 students
- Highland ElementaryElementary · 854 students
- SanLee Middle SchoolMiddle · 792 students
- Highland MiddleMiddle · 762 students
- Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee CountyHigh · 628 students
Nearby schools
- SanLee Middle School0.2 mi · 792
- J Glenn Edwards Elementary2.0 mi · 587
- Floyd L Knight Children Center2.2 mi · 95
- Rising Leaders Academy2.3 mi · 282
- Tramway Elementary2.3 mi · 559
- WB Wicker Elementary2.7 mi · 588
Frequently asked questions
About Southern Lee High SchoolHow large is Southern Lee High School?
Southern Lee High School enrolls approximately 1,180 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Southern Lee High School serve?
Southern Lee High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southern Lee High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southern Lee High School is approximately 21.0:1 (56 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southern Lee High School?
At Southern Lee High School, the student body is approximately 31% White, 44% Hispanic, 21% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Southern Lee High School in?
Southern Lee High School is part of Lee County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.