Enrollment
231
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Gilbert, AZ
Desert Hills High School
Federal NCES profile for Desert Hills High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 20/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 040038401899Charter school
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Desert Hills High School earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Arizona schools.
- #48 of 63
- public schools in Gilbert · Resource Index
- 20
- Resource Index · Lower
- 41.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 231
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Desert Hills High School ranks #48 of 63 public schools in Gilbert, AZ.
School address
NCES ID 040038401899 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
41.7%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-14% vs state
What stands out at Desert Hills High School
Desert Hills High School is a mid-sized charter high school in Gilbert, Arizona, enrolling 231 students.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 41.7% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 231 puts it in the smaller third of Arizona schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,064 scored Arizona schools.
Against 107 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #55.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (31%) and White (31%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 73/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Its district draws 25.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 49 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 231 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
American Charter Schools Foundation D.B.a. Desert (79872) is a single-school charter district, so Desert Hills High School 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 Desert Hills High School compares
Desert Hills High School on the metrics families compare, against Arizona and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.7% | ▼ 14% | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 231 | top 69% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
231
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
41.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 14% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Funding equity
$12,558
per pupil, district-wide
- below Arizona avg of $13,145
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that 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 + 49 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.2 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
Hispanic or Latino 31.2%
White 30.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 26.8%
African American 6.5%
Two or More 4.3%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 31.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 73.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 73.0, Desert Hills High School is more mixed than the Arizona school average of 47.2.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for American Charter Schools Foundation D.B.a. Desert (79872), which includes Desert Hills High School.
$12,558
Per student
-4%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,145
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 0.7%
State 74.0%
Federal 25.3%
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 high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arizona, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Desert Hills High School's federal record.
- Compare Desert Hills High School against another school. Compare schools
- American Charter Schools Foundation D.B.a. Desert (79872)'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 Desert Hills High School
How many students attend Desert Hills High School?
Desert Hills High School has 231 students enrolled. It is a high school in Gilbert, AZ.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Desert Hills High School?
41.7% of students at Desert Hills High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Hills High School?
The largest demographic group at Desert Hills High School is Hispanic or Latino at 31.2% of enrollment, in Gilbert, AZ. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 73.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Hills High School?
Desert Hills High School has a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Desert Hills High School rank among public schools in Gilbert?
By Resource Investment Index, Desert Hills High School ranks #48 of 63 public schools in Gilbert, AZ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Gilbert on the city page.
Is Desert Hills High School a good school?
Desert Hills High School earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Arizona 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 American Charter Schools Foundation D.B.a. Desert (79872)?
None; American Charter Schools Foundation D.B.a. Desert (79872) is a single-school charter district, and Desert Hills High School is its only campus.
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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.