Enrollment
438
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Desert Hills, AZ
Desert Mountain School
Federal NCES profile for Desert Mountain School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 040775000622
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 12
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Desert Mountain School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arizona median.
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15.6:1
- students per teacher
- 16.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 438
- students enrolled
Desert Mountain School has class sizes near the Arizona median. Computed live against every Arizona school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Deer Valley Unified District (4246) · Arizona
NCES ID 040775000622 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.6:1
vs 17:1 Arizona avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Desert Mountain School compares with Arizona and U.S. medians
What stands out at Desert Mountain School
Desert Mountain School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Desert Hills, Arizona, enrolling 438 students.
At 15.6:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Arizona median, within a few percentage points of the 17:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 16.9% free-meal eligibility runs 65% below the Arizona average.
With 438 students, its enrollment sits close to the Arizona median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,064 scored Arizona schools.
Against 177 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #122.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 39/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 438 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 42.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Deer Valley Unified District (4246) spends $9,561 per pupil, 27% below the Arizona average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Deer Valley Unified District (4246) also operates Mountain Ridge High School (2,823 students) and Sandra Day O'connor High School (2,658 students) alongside Desert Mountain School.
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 Mountain School compares
Desert Mountain School on the metrics families compare, against Arizona and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.6:1 | ▼ 8% | 17:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.9% | ▼ 65% | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 438 | top 46% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.6:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
438
Bigger than 53% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
16.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 65% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.6:1
students per teacher
- 8% below state mean
Top 42% in Arizona - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
42.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$9,561
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 438 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.6 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
White 76.3%
Hispanic or Latino 16.9%
Two or More 5.5%
African American 0.7%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 76.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 38.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 38.6, Desert Mountain School is less mixed than the Arizona school average of 47.2.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Deer Valley Unified District (4246), which includes Desert Mountain School.
$9,561
Per student
-27%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,145
-42%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.9%
State 38.6%
Federal 12.6%
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 Desert Mountain School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Ridge High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sandra Day O'connor High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Boulder Creek High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Deer Valley High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Barry Goldwater High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Desert Mountain School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,823
- Students per teacher
- 25.7:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 2,658
- Students per teacher
- 25.6:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 2,221
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 1,707
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 1,602
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
Similar other 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.
Similar enrollment (~438 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Desert Mountain School's federal record.
- Compare Desert Mountain School against another school. Compare schools
- Deer Valley Unified District (4246)'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 Mountain School
How many students attend Desert Mountain School?
Desert Mountain School has 438 students enrolled. It is a public school in Desert Hills, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Mountain School?
The student-teacher ratio at Desert Mountain School is 15.6:1, which is 8% lower than the Arizona average of 17:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Desert Mountain School?
16.9% of students at Desert Mountain School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Mountain School?
The largest demographic group at Desert Mountain School is White at 76.3% of enrollment, in Desert Hills, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Mountain School?
Desert Mountain School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Desert Mountain School a good school?
Desert Mountain School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arizona median. 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 Deer Valley Unified District (4246)?
Besides Desert Mountain School, Deer Valley Unified District (4246) also operates Mountain Ridge High School (2,823 students), Sandra Day O'connor High School (2,658 students), and Boulder Creek High School (2,221 students). See the Deer Valley Unified District (4246) 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.