Enrollment
16
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Gainesville, FL
Challenge at Alachua Academy
Federal NCES profile for Challenge at Alachua Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 120003010619
16 students enrolled
School address
Free-lunch eligible
18.8%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-64% vs state
What stands out at Challenge at Alachua Academy
Challenge at Alachua Academy is a lower-poverty, small combined-grade school in Gainesville, Florida, enrolling 16 students.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 18.8% free-meal eligibility runs 64% below the Florida average.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 97% of Florida schools, with 16 enrolled.
Its district draws 19.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Alachua also operates F. W. Buchholz High School (2,416 students) and Gainesville High School (1,825 students) alongside Challenge at Alachua Academy.
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 Challenge at Alachua Academy compares
Challenge at Alachua Academy on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.8% | ▼ 64% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 16 | top 97% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16
Bigger than 2% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
18.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 64% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Funding equity
$10,805
per pupil, district-wide
- below Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
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.
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alachua, which includes Challenge at Alachua Academy.
$10,805
Per student
-3%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.3%
State 36.3%
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.
How Challenge at Alachua Academy Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| F. W. Buchholz High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Gainesville High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Eastside High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Santa Fe High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Kanapaha Middle School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Challenge at Alachua Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,416
- Students per teacher
- 30.2:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 1,825
- Students per teacher
- 29:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 1,291
- Students per teacher
- 30.7:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 1,132
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 1,014
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Resource Index
- 22/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Challenge at Alachua Academy's federal record.
- Compare Challenge at Alachua Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Alachua'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 Challenge at Alachua Academy
How many students attend Challenge at Alachua Academy?
Challenge at Alachua Academy has 16 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Gainesville, FL.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Challenge at Alachua Academy?
18.8% of students at Challenge at Alachua Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What other schools are in Alachua?
Besides Challenge at Alachua Academy, Alachua also operates F. W. Buchholz High School (2,416 students), Gainesville High School (1,825 students), and Eastside High School (1,291 students). See the Alachua district page for the complete list.
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.