Enrollment
1,049
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 040032602162 Charter school
Arizona Charter Academy — Surprise, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Arizona Charter Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 10/100.
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
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: Success School (79453) · Arizona
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.
Free-lunch eligible
55.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
+14% vs state
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
Arizona Charter Academy reports 1,049 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 55.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% above the Arizona average and 6% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1049 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 47.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Success School (79453) spends $10,547 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 2.9% from local sources (property taxes), 75.9% from the state, and 21.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 10/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Arizona Charter Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.0% | ▲ 14% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,049 | top 92% | — | — |
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
55.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
47.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,547
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 1049 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
16
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,049 Top 92% in Arizona — larger than 8% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 55.0% +14% vs state
NCES ID 040032602162
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 68.0%
White 17.4%
African American 9.9%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 68.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 1049:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 47.7%
In-school suspensions 16
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Success School (79453), which includes Arizona Charter Academy.
$10,547
Per student
-30%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-46%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 2.9%
State 75.9%
Federal 21.2%
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.
Similar elementary schools in Surprise
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Legacy Traditional School - Surprise
Standard public school
1,797 students
Paradise Honors Elementary School
Standard public school
1,264 students
Cimarron Springs Middle School
Standard public school
810 students 20.3:1 students per teacher
Sonoran Heights Middle School
Standard public school
560 students 17.8:1 students per teacher
Calibre Academy Surprise
Standard public school
538 students
Imagine Rosefield
Standard public school
521 students
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 Arizona Charter Academy
How many students attend Arizona Charter Academy?
Arizona Charter Academy has 1,049 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in SURPRISE, AZ.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Arizona Charter Academy?
55.0% of students at Arizona Charter Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Arizona Charter Academy?
The largest demographic group at Arizona Charter Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 68.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in SURPRISE, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Arizona Charter Academy?
Arizona Charter Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 10/100 (F) based on 3 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.