Enrollment
364
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 040013501748 Charter school
Challenge Charter School — Glendale, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Challenge Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
🌟 Gifted program 30
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: Challenge School Inc. (6362) · 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
21.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-55% 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
Challenge Charter School reports 364 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% below the Arizona average and 58% below the national baseline.
On the finance side, the surrounding Challenge School Inc. (6362) spends $11,646 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 6.5% from local sources (property taxes), 76.8% from the state, and 16.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), calculated from 1 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 Challenge Charter School 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 | 21.9% | ▼ 55% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 364 | top 44% | — | — |
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
21.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Funding equity
$11,646
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 364 Top 44% in Arizona — larger than 56% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 21.9% -55% vs state
NCES ID 040013501748
Student demographics
White 53.0%
Hispanic or Latino 26.1%
Asian 7.7%
African American 6.9%
Two or More 5.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 53.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Challenge School Inc. (6362), which includes Challenge Charter School.
$11,646
Per student
-23%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 6.5%
State 76.8%
Federal 16.7%
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 Glendale
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Academy of Math and Science Glendale
Standard public school
1,085 students
Horizon School
Standard public school
856 students 22.7:1 students per teacher
Challenger Middle School
Standard public school
839 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Heritage Elementary School
Standard public school
832 students
Harold W Smith School
Standard public school
719 students 29.7:1 students per teacher
Carol G. Peck Elementary School
Standard public school
665 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
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 Challenge Charter School
How many students attend Challenge Charter School?
Challenge Charter School has 364 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in GLENDALE, AZ.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Challenge Charter School?
21.9% of students at Challenge Charter School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Challenge Charter School?
The largest demographic group at Challenge Charter School is White at 53.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in GLENDALE, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Challenge Charter School?
Challenge Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) based on 1 factor: student-teacher ratio. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.