Enrollment
385
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 064251008517
Academy of the Canyons — Santa Clarita, CA
Federal NCES profile for Academy of the Canyons, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 0
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 94
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: William S. Hart Union High · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
28.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-78% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Academy of the Canyons compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Academy of the Canyons reports 385 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 28.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 31% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 78% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 12.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 78% below the California average and 77% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 385 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 2.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding William S. Hart Union High spends $18,017 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.8% from local sources (property taxes), 59.6% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Academy of the Canyons compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 28.3:1 | ▲ 31% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.1% | ▼ 78% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 385 | top 37% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
12.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 78% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
28.3:1
students per teacher
— 31% above state mean
Top 96% in California — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
2.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$18,017
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 385 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 385 Top 37% in California — larger than 63% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 28.3:1 +31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 12.1% -78% vs state
NCES ID 064251008517
Student demographics
Asian 43.6%
White 27.0%
Hispanic or Latino 22.1%
Two or More 3.6%
African American 3.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Asian at 43.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 385:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 2.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for William S. Hart Union High, which includes Academy of the Canyons.
$18,017
Per student
0%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.8%
State 59.6%
Federal 11.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,317
- Students per teacher
- 25:1
- Enrollment
- 2,286
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,980
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 1,952
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,941
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
Similar high schools in Santa Clarita
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Academy of the Canyons
How many students attend Academy of the Canyons?
Academy of the Canyons has 385 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santa Clarita, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Academy of the Canyons?
The student-teacher ratio at Academy of the Canyons is 28.3:1, which is 31% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 78% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Academy of the Canyons?
12.1% of students at Academy of the Canyons are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Academy of the Canyons?
The largest demographic group at Academy of the Canyons is Asian at 43.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Clarita, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Academy of the Canyons?
Academy of the Canyons has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.