Enrollment
536
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 180008802495 Charter school
Discovery Charter School — Porter, IN
Federal NCES profile for Discovery Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 33
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 59
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: Discovery Charter School · Indiana
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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.7:1
vs 16.1:1 Indiana avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.8%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Discovery Charter School compares with Indiana 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 Charter School reports 536 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% above the Indiana state mean of 16.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 5% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 42% below the Indiana average and 44% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Discovery Charter School spends $9,598 per pupil district-wide, below the Indiana average of $14,559 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 2.8% from local sources (property taxes), 80.3% from the state, and 16.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-), calculated from 3 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 Charter School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Indiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.7:1 | ▲ 4% | 16.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.8% | ▼ 42% | 49.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 536 | top 64% | — | — |
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
28.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 42% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.7:1
students per teacher
— 4% above state mean
Top 68% in Indiana — lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.6%
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
$9,598
per pupil, district-wide
— below Indiana avg of $14,559
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
41
in-school suspensions + 48 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 536 Top 64% in Indiana — larger than 36% of 1,865 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 16.7:1 +4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.8% -42% vs state
NCES ID 180008802495
Student demographics
White 64.0%
Hispanic or Latino 18.5%
African American 7.6%
Two or More 7.5%
Asian 2.4%
Largest group: White at 64.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.6%
In-school suspensions 41
Out-of-school suspensions 48
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Discovery Charter School, which includes Discovery Charter School.
$9,598
Per student
-34%
vs Indiana
Avg $14,559
-51%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 2.8%
State 80.3%
Federal 16.9%
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 elementary schools in Porter
1 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 Charter School
How many students attend Discovery Charter School?
Discovery Charter School has 536 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Porter, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Discovery Charter School?
The student-teacher ratio at Discovery Charter School is 16.7:1, which is 4% higher than the Indiana average of 16.1:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Discovery Charter School?
28.8% of students at Discovery Charter School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Discovery Charter School?
The largest demographic group at Discovery Charter School is White at 64.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Porter, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Discovery Charter School?
Discovery Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.