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Alumni: what's one memory from West Lee Middle that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
522
Middle
DISTRICT 613 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370256001085
West Lee Middle
3301 Wicker St, Sanford, NC 27330 · (919) 775-7351 · Lee County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL522 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of North Carolina public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
506 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 145 | 28% |
| Grade 7 | 173 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 204 | 39% |
Student demographics
62%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
45.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
39.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 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
41.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.2%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 West Lee Middle
West Lee Middle's state test result (41.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Lee Middle this school | 522 | 96.9% | 41.9% |
| North Asheboro Middle Asheboro | 501 | 99.4% | 43.2% |
| South Asheboro Middle Asheboro | 491 | 99.0% | 47.5% |
| Hobbton Middle Newton Grove | 428 | 99.3% | 49.0% |
| East Middle Biscoe | 422 | 99.3% | 40.5% |
| Saint Pauls Middle Saint Pauls | 678 | 99.6% | 24.3% |
Matched among North Carolina middle 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 West Lee Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.9% | #330 of 463 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.2% | #324 of 461 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.2% | #275 of 463 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 522 | #283 of 478 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #60 of 456 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.2% | #231 of 456 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.9% | #334 of 472 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.7% | #59 of 300 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
522
-147 (-22%) vs 2020
-40% since 1990-91, when it was 865
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 15.2:1
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 | 522 | 38 | 13.7:1 | 97% (506) |
| 2023-24 | 583 | 36 | 16.2:1 | 70% (408) |
| 2022-23 | 607 | 46.8 | 13.0:1 | 71% (428) |
| 2020-21 | 669 | 44 | 15.2:1 | 54% (359) |
| 2017-18 | 667 | 43.1 | 15.5:1 | 63% (420) |
| 2015-16 | 716 | 44 | 16.3:1 | 61% (440) |
| 2010-11 | 715 | 43 | 16.6:1 | 54% (388) |
| 2000-01 | 1,040 | 70 | 14.9:1 | 32% (337) |
| 1990-91 | 865 | 58 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Lee Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 22% (667 to 522); teachers down 12% (43.1 to 38).
About West Lee Middle
West Lee Middle is a mid-sized middle school that serves part of Sanford, North Carolina. It reports enrollment of 522 students in grades 6 through 8.
Lee County Schools includes 16 schools. Together they enroll 9,168 students.
More than half of the students at West Lee Middle are Hispanic (55%). Other reported shares: 20% White, 19% Black, and 6% multiracial. That compares with about 22% Hispanic among all Lee County residents. The diversity index for West Lee Middle is 62%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are 38 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 13.7:1. Across middle schools in North Carolina, the average ratio is 15.9:1. Of all students at West Lee Middle, 97% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Lee County average a similar 95%.
Among North Carolina public middle schools, West Lee Middle outscored 30%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, West Lee Middle is 7.3 points below its prediction. Actual: 41.9%. Predicted: 49.2%.
In Lee County, home to about 65,816 people, the median household earns about $65,387 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 13%. Public schools in Lee County number 20, with about 10,641 students.
Measured in a straight line, J R Ingram Jr Elementary is about 0.4 miles from West Lee Middle. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of 7 schools in the immediate area with test results, West Lee Middle ranks 6th on average proficiency.
West Lee Middle is in a town some distance from an urbanized area, a location NCES labels Town: Distant.
Enrollment was 522 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 669. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 15.2:1 to 13.7:1.
The West Lee Middle discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- J R Ingram Jr Elementary0.4 mi · 419
- WB Wicker Elementary1.9 mi · 588
- Central Carolina Academy2.1 mi · 536
- Tramway Elementary2.2 mi · 559
- SanLee Middle School2.6 mi · 792
- Floyd L Knight Children Center2.8 mi · 95
Frequently asked questions
About West Lee MiddleHow many students attend West Lee Middle?
West Lee Middle enrolls approximately 522 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does West Lee Middle serve?
West Lee Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at West Lee Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at West Lee Middle is approximately 13.7:1 (38 FTE teachers).
How diverse is West Lee Middle?
West Lee Middle reports a student body of 20% White, 55% Hispanic, 19% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees West Lee Middle?
West Lee Middle is overseen by Lee County Schools in Lee County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.