Enrollment
722
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 120156008262 Charter school
Discovery Academy of Science — Dunedin, FL
Federal NCES profile for Discovery Academy of Science, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 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
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)
40.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.6:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.0%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-46% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Discovery Academy of Science compares with Florida 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
Discovery Academy of Science reports 722 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 40.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 26% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 46% below the Florida average and 46% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 722 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pinellas spends $13,882 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 56.7% from local sources (property taxes), 25.1% from the state, and 18.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), calculated from 4 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 Discovery Academy of Science compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.6:1 | ▼ 26% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.0% | ▼ 46% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 722 | top 63% | — | — |
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
28.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 46% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.6:1
students per teacher
— 26% below state mean
Top 15% in Florida — lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
13.2%
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
$13,882
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 722 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
26
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 722 Top 63% in Florida — larger than 37% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 40.0
Students per teacher 13.6:1 -26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.0% -46% vs state
NCES ID 120156008262
Student demographics
White 66.9%
Hispanic or Latino 18.8%
Two or More 6.1%
Asian 4.3%
African American 3.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 66.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 722:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.2%
In-school suspensions 26
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pinellas, which includes Discovery Academy of Science.
$13,882
Per student
+9%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 56.7%
State 25.1%
Federal 18.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,413
- Students per teacher
- 23.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,058
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,980
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,934
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,736
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
Similar elementary schools in Dunedin
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Discovery Academy of Science
How many students attend Discovery Academy of Science?
Discovery Academy of Science has 722 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in DUNEDIN, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Discovery Academy of Science?
The student-teacher ratio at Discovery Academy of Science is 13.6:1, which is 26% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 14% 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 Discovery Academy of Science?
28.0% of students at Discovery Academy of Science are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Discovery Academy of Science?
The largest demographic group at Discovery Academy of Science is White at 66.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in DUNEDIN, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Discovery Academy of Science?
Discovery Academy of Science has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.