Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County
Sanford · NC · Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County · Public charter · K-12 combined
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Central Carolina Academy → Chatham Central High → Southern Wake Academy → Southern Lee High School → Lee County High → Triangle Math and Science Academy → Cross Creek Early College → Northwood High →At a glance
- AP rigor: Bottom 6% of US high schools
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
Keep this page current
Work at Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County? If this page is missing your newest school profile, matriculation list, or college acceptances, send us the links. We read the document, copy the figures exactly as published, and cite it on this page.
Send us links
Links only, please. We can't take file uploads, and we never publish a number without the document it came from.
By sending this you agree that we may email you about your request. We write by email only, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
How Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County compares for families
What families should know about Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County.
- ▸ 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: Central Carolina Academy, Chatham Central High, Southern Wake Academy and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
For Parents
Get alerts when Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County's numbers change
New admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.
Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Source: 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.
Your state's public flagship
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $11,655/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.
Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.
Chronic absenteeism
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.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2021 total enrollment.
Counselor capacity
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 + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of +9.8%/year, projecting from 2024's 628 students:
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Revenue upside
At $8,477 per student in district revenue, the 374 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $3,170,398/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.
Most similar nearby high schools
The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Carolina Academy Sanford |
Public · charter | 5.9 | 227 | +320.4% |
| Chatham Central High Bear Creek |
Public | 19.4 | 320 | -28.3% |
| Southern Wake Academy Holly Springs |
Public · charter | 21.2 | 293 | -7.6% |
| Southern Lee High School Sanford |
Public | 3.4 | 1,180 | -4.5% |
| Lee County High Sanford |
Public | 2.6 | 1,459 | +1.7% |
| Triangle Math and Science Academy Cary |
Public · charter | 27.3 | 470 | +59.3% |
| Cross Creek Early College Fayetteville |
Public | 28.1 | 253 | +2.8% |
| Northwood High Pittsboro |
Public | 22.5 | 634 | -43.6% |
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantAscend Leadership Academy: Lee County is a public high school in Sanford, NC, enrolling 628 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.
It has about 628 students per school counselor.
10% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.
Questions families ask
How many students attend Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County? Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County is a public high school in Sanford, NC, enrolling 628 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
What does AI tell parents about Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County?
When a parent asks an AI assistant about Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County, the answer is built from a handful of sources, and Reach is often one of them. We will send your school a short report on what AI says about Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County and where it comes from. The first report is free.
Request the free report
Related reading
AP courses · October 2026
Test scores · October 2026