Enrollment
314
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 130174003708
Dekalb Early College Academy — Stone Mountain, GA
Federal NCES profile for Dekalb Early College Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 65/100.
👥 Class size 30
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 69
📋 Attendance 90
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: Dekalb County · Georgia
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.
Teachers (FTE)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.4:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
+20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
53.6%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-12% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dekalb Early College Academy compares with Georgia and U.S. medians
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
Dekalb Early College Academy reports 314 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% above the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 53.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 12% below the Georgia average and 3% above the national baseline. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 157 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 4.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Dekalb County spends $16,212 per pupil district-wide, above the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.6% from local sources (property taxes), 32.7% from the state, and 15.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (B-), calculated from 5 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 Dekalb Early College Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.4:1 | ▲ 20% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 53.6% | ▼ 12% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 314 | top 11% | — | — |
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
53.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 12% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.4:1
students per teacher
— 20% above state mean
Top 90% in Georgia — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
4.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$16,212
per pupil, district-wide
— above Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 157 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
27
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 314 Top 11% in Georgia — larger than 89% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 17.4:1 +20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 53.6% -12% vs state
NCES ID 130174003708
Student demographics
African American 72.6%
Hispanic or Latino 13.7%
Asian 10.8%
White 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
Two or More 1.0%
Largest group: African American at 72.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 157:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 4.1%
In-school suspensions 27
Out-of-school suspensions 12
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dekalb County, which includes Dekalb Early College Academy.
$16,212
Per student
+3%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.6%
State 32.7%
Federal 15.7%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,234
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,012
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,867
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,748
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,713
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
Similar high schools in Stone Mountain
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Stephenson High School
Standard public school
1,339 students 16.3:1 students per teacher
Stone Mountain High School
Standard public school
1,254 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Redan High School
Standard public school
1,052 students 19:1 students per teacher
Elizabeth Andrews High School
Standard public school
167 students 5.9:1 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 Dekalb Early College Academy
How many students attend Dekalb Early College Academy?
Dekalb Early College Academy has 314 students enrolled. It is a high school in Stone Mountain, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dekalb Early College Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Dekalb Early College Academy is 17.4:1, which is 20% higher than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dekalb Early College Academy?
53.6% of students at Dekalb Early College Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dekalb Early College Academy?
The largest demographic group at Dekalb Early College Academy is African American at 72.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Stone Mountain, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dekalb Early College Academy?
Dekalb Early College Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (B-) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.