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Little Rock, Arkansas - 5 schools
An equity score of 53/100 ranks Estem High Charter #106 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,403 per pupil, Estem High Charter ranks #153 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,890
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$11,403
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Estem High Charter operates 5 public schools serving 2,890 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 elementary, 2 combined, 1 high schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Pulaski County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,403 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 4.0% local, 74.0% state, and 22.0% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 53/100, ranked #106 of 250 in Arkansas against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 5 schools offering Advanced Placement (24 AP courses district-wide), a 248.8:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 48.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 72.1% African American, 11.6% White, 10.2% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Estem Public Charter High School, with a diversity index of 55.9/100.
Estem Public Charter High School accounts for 23.4% of all Estem High Charter student enrollment
That concentration means Estem High Charter-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Estem High Charter school enrollment varies 2.3× across entities
Estem High Charter school enrollment ranges from 292 students (lowest) to 676 students (highest), a spread of 384 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous campus portfolio, most districts have a wider mix of school sizes. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Estem High Charter has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 50.4% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Estem High Charter student-counselor ratio is 249:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Estem High Charter chronic absenteeism rate is 48.2% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Estem High Charter has 5 schools, including 1 high, 2 elementary, 2 combined. Total enrollment is 2,890 students.
How much does Estem High Charter spend per student?
Estem High Charter spends $11,403 per student. The district has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #106 in Arkansas.
What is the demographic composition of Estem High Charter?
Estem High Charter students are 72.1% African American, 11.6% White, 10.2% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Estem High Charter?
Estem High Charter has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #106 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.