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Shining Rock Classical Academy

Waynesville · NC · Shining Rock Classical Academy · Public charter · K-12 combined

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📋 At a glance

Programs & features
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 6% of US high schools

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Shining Rock Classical Academy compares for families

What families should know about Shining Rock Classical Academy.

  • LocallyNC sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Haywood Christian Academy, Tuscola High, Central Haywood High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21
SAT/ACT test-takers
0
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
3.6%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
3.6%
Strong attendance culture among teachers.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
10.6%
Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.
Students absent 15+ days
65
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
616:1
Well above the US median — a real constraint on individualized college and course planning.
Counselor FTE
1.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
36
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment went from 543 in 2021 to 616 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+13.4%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +4.3%/year, projecting from 2024's 616 students:

2025
642
2027
699
2029
760

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $8,795 per student in district revenue, the 144 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $1,266,480/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Haywood Christian Academy
Lake Junaluska
Private 0.4 129 +24.0%
Tuscola High
Waynesville
Public 2.0 873 -3.7%
Central Haywood High
Waynesville
Public 2.5 63 -12.5%
Academy At Soar, Soar Inc.
Waynesville
Private 3.2 32
St Joseph Academy
Maggie Valley
Private 6.2 7
Pisgah High
Canton
Public 8.1 859 -9.6%
Jackson Community School
Sylva
Public 12.9 46
Smoky Mountain High School
Sylva
Public 16.7 881 -0.7%

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