Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff

Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.

Pine Bluff, Arkansas - 5 schools

An equity score of 53/100 ranks Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff #110 of 250 districts in Arkansas (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.

At $11,879 per pupil, Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff ranks #124 of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending (Arkansas districts). NCES F-33 finance data.

913
Total Enrollment
5
Schools
$11,879
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Combined
School Types

District-Level NCES Analysis

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff operates 5 public schools serving 913 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Arkansas. The school portfolio breaks down into 3 elementary, 1 combined, 1 middle 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 Jefferson County.

Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,879 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 255 Arkansas districts by per-pupil spending. See how Arkansas compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 0.4% local, 66.6% state, and 33.0% 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 #110 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.

a 180.4:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 15.8% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 91.9% African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% White across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Friendship Aspire Academy Little Rock Middle School, with a diversity index of 33.8/100.

Its largest campus is Friendship Aspire Academy, enrolling 469 students (45% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Friendship Aspire Academy Little Rock Middle School, at 62 students, a 8x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.

Friendship Aspire Academy accounts for 44.6% of all Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff student enrollment

That dominant concentration means Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff school enrollment varies 7.6× across entities

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff school enrollment ranges from 62 students (lowest) to 469 students (highest), a spread of 407 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.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 63.2% 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). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. 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.

Source: ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system ESSA Title I Part A; ED EDFacts file system

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff student-counselor ratio is 180:1 — 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.

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection NCES Civil Rights Data Collection

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff chronic absenteeism rate is 15.8% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism

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 Variation between sub-units within Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff is typically wider than the Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 NCES Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22

Where does the funding come from?

33.0%
Federal
66.6%
State
0.4%
Local

Funding Equity

53
Equity Score
110 / 250
State Rank
50
State Average

This district has moderate funding equity. There may be room to improve funding diversity or resource allocation.

Student Demographics

Average demographic composition across 5 schools in Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff.

White 1.3%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
African American 91.9%
Multiracial 0.9%

Source: NCES CCD School Membership 2024-25.

Student-body diversity

Average diversity index 14.3/100

Average Simpson diversity index across Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff's schools, below the Arkansas average of 40.4.

Most mixed schools

  1. 1 Friendship Aspire Academy Little Rock Middle School 33.8
  2. 2 Friendship Academy Little Rock Elementary 13.2
  3. 3 Friendship Aspire Academy 9.1
  4. 4 Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Pine Bluff 8.0
  5. 5 Friendship Aspire Academy Southeast Pine Bluff 7.6

Programs & Resources

180.4:1
Student-Counselor Ratio
15.8%
Chronically Absent

Source: NCES Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.

Schools in Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff

School Enrollment
Friendship Aspire Academy
Charter
469
Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Pine Bluff
Charter
245
Friendship Academy Little Rock Elementary
Charter
200
Friendship Aspire Academy Southeast Pine Bluff
Charter
76
Friendship Aspire Academy Little Rock Middle School
Charter
62

How Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff Compares to Similar-Size Districts

The Arkansas districts closest to this one in total enrollment.

District Enrollment Spending Funding Mix
Flippin School District Similar size Similar spending More locally funded
Harmony Grove School District Similar size Similar spending More locally funded
Perryville School District Similar size Similar spending More locally funded
White Co. Central School Dist. Similar size Lower spending More locally funded
Charleston School District Similar size Similar spending More locally funded

Comparisons are relative to Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.

Nearby Districts in Arkansas

Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.

Compare Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff

See how this district compares to others in enrollment, spending, demographics, and academic resources.

Compare vs Springdale School District →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many schools are in Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff?

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff has 5 schools, including 3 elementary, 1 combined, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 913 students.

How much does Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff spend per student?

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff spends $11,879 per student. The district has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #110 in Arkansas.

What is the demographic composition of Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff?

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff students are 91.9% African American, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 1.3% White, 0.3% Asian, averaged across 5 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.

What is the equity score for Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff?

Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff has an equity score of 53/100, ranking #110 out of 250 districts in Arkansas.