Enrollment
298
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 130174003884
Dekalb School of the Arts — Avondale Estates, GA
Federal NCES profile for Dekalb School of the Arts, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 67/100.
👥 Class size 42
📚 AP courses 85
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 70
📋 Attendance 67
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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.6%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-74% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dekalb School of the Arts 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 School of the Arts reports 298 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 15.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 74% below the Georgia average and 70% below the national baseline. The school offers 17 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 149 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.1% 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 67/100 (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 School of the Arts 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 | 14.4:1 | ▼ 1% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.6% | ▼ 74% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 298 | top 10% | — | — |
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
15.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 74% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.4:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 52% in Georgia — lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
13.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
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 149 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 298 Top 10% in Georgia — larger than 90% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 14.4:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 15.6% -74% vs state
NCES ID 130174003884
Student demographics
African American 57.7%
White 24.2%
Hispanic or Latino 8.1%
Two or More 7.4%
Asian 2.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 57.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 17
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 149:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dekalb County, which includes Dekalb School of the Arts.
$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
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 School of the Arts
How many students attend Dekalb School of the Arts?
Dekalb School of the Arts has 298 students enrolled. It is a high school in Avondale Estates, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dekalb School of the Arts?
The student-teacher ratio at Dekalb School of the Arts is 14.4:1, which is 1% lower than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dekalb School of the Arts?
15.6% of students at Dekalb School of the Arts are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dekalb School of the Arts?
The largest demographic group at Dekalb School of the Arts is African American at 57.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Avondale Estates, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dekalb School of the Arts?
Dekalb School of the Arts has a Resource Investment Index of 67/100 (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.