Enrollment
508
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Minneapolis, MN
Best Academy
Federal NCES profile for Best Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 270030904261Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Best Academy earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- #34 of 42
- elementary schools in Minneapolis · Resource Index
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- students per teacher
- 90.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Best Academy has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Best Academy ranks #34 of 42 elementary schools in Minneapolis, MN.
School address
District: Best Academy · Minnesota
NCES ID 270030904261 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
90.8%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+112% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Best Academy compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Best Academy
Best Academy is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter elementary school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, enrolling 508 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Minnesota schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 90.8% of students qualify for free meals, 112% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 508 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 52 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #32.
Its student body is predominantly African American (93% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 13/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 254 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 68.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Best Academy spends $22,720 per pupil, 49% above the Minnesota average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 19.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Best Academy is a single-school charter district, so Best Academy operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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
How Best Academy compares
Best Academy on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▼ 22% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.8% | ▲ 112% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 508 | top 25% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
508
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
90.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 112% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 22% below state mean
Top 32% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 68% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
68.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$22,720
per pupil, district-wide
- above Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 254 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
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.
Student demographics
African American 93.3%
Two or More 3.1%
Hispanic or Latino 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 93.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 12.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 12.8, Best Academy is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Best Academy, which includes Best Academy.
$22,720
Per student
+49%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
+37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 0.5%
State 80.1%
Federal 19.4%
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 statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~508 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Best Academy's federal record.
- Compare Best Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Best Academy's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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.
Frequently asked questions about Best Academy
How many students attend Best Academy?
Best Academy has 508 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Minneapolis, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Best Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Best Academy is 12.4:1, which is 22% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 21% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Best Academy?
90.8% of students at Best Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Best Academy?
The largest demographic group at Best Academy is African American at 93.3% of enrollment, in Minneapolis, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Best Academy?
Best Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Best Academy rank among elementary schools in Minneapolis?
By Resource Investment Index, Best Academy ranks #34 of 42 elementary schools in Minneapolis, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Minneapolis on the city page.
Is Best Academy a good school?
Best Academy earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools. 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.
What other schools are in Best Academy?
None; Best Academy is a single-school charter district, and Best Academy is its only campus.
Related tools
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.