Enrollment
70
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Buffalo, NY
Federal NCES profile for Academy School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 73/100.
The verdict
Academy School earns 73/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of New York schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in New York.
Academy School has class sizes smaller than 99% of New York schools. Computed live against every New York school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Academy School ranks #1 of 49 schools in Buffalo, NY.
NCES ID 360585006262 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Enrollment
70
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
Teachers (FTE)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
2.1:1
vs 11.8:1 New York avg
-82% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
94.3%
vs 56.2% New York avg
+68% vs state
How Academy School compares with New York and U.S. medians
Smaller classes than state median
2.1:1 - 9.7 below the New York state median of 11.8:1, indicating smaller average class loads than typical schools in the state.
Academy School is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Buffalo, New York, enrolling 70 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 2.1:1, Academy School is leaner than roughly 99% of New York schools and 82% under the state's 11.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 94.3% of students qualify for free meals, 68% above the New York average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 98% of New York schools, with 70 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 4,801 New York schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 27 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #5.
Its student body is led by African American (71%) and Hispanic or Latino (14%) (diversity index 46/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 14 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Its district draws 26.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 85 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 70 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Buffalo City School District also operates Hutchinson Central Technical High School (1,140 students) and City Honors School (1,088 students) alongside Academy School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
Academy School on the metrics families compare, against New York and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 2.1:1 | ▼ 82% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 94.3% | ▲ 68% | 56.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 70 | top 98% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Largest group: African American at 71.4% of enrollment.
Simpson diversity index - at 45.6, Academy School is about as mixed as the New York school average of 45.5.
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Buffalo City School District, which includes Academy School.
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.
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hutchinson Central Technical High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| City Honors School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| International School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Frederick Olmsted #156 | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Mckinley Vocational High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Academy School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New York, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Academy School's federal record.
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Academy School has 70 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Buffalo, NY.
The student-teacher ratio at Academy School is 2.1:1, which is 82% lower than the New York average of 11.8:1 and 87% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
94.3% of students at Academy School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
The largest demographic group at Academy School is African American at 71.4% of enrollment, in Buffalo, NY.
Academy School has a Resource Investment Index of 73/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
By Resource Investment Index, Academy School ranks #1 of 49 schools in Buffalo, NY. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Buffalo on the city page.
Academy School earns 73/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of New York schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in New York. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
Besides Academy School, Buffalo City School District also operates Hutchinson Central Technical High School (1,140 students), City Honors School (1,088 students), and International School (933 students). See the Buffalo City School District district page for the complete list.
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. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
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PlainSchools, “Academy School, Buffalo NY.” Compiled from NCES Common Core of Data, Civil Rights Data Collection, and the NCES F-33 finance survey; data as of June 2026. https://plainschools.com/schools/academy-school-ny
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