Enrollment
626
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Philadelphia, PA
Discovery Cs
Federal NCES profile for Discovery Cs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 420012100757Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 43
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 99
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Discovery Cs earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania schools.
- #23 of 131
- elementary schools in Philadelphia · Resource Index
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.2:1
- students per teacher
- 57.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Discovery Cs has class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Discovery Cs ranks #23 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA.
School address
District: Discovery Cs · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420012100757 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.2:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
57.9%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Discovery Cs compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Discovery Cs
Discovery Cs is a higher-need, mid-sized charter elementary school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, enrolling 626 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 14.2:1 puts it in the larger third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 57.9% lands close to the Pennsylvania typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 626 puts it in the larger third of Pennsylvania schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 279 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #172.
Its student body is predominantly African American (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 626 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 0.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 23.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Philadelphia's elementary schools, it stands alongside Northeast Community Propel Academy (1,783 students): Discovery Cs is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.2:1 vs 22.6:1).
Discovery Cs is a single-school charter district, so Discovery Cs 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 Discovery Cs compares
Discovery Cs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.2:1 | ▲ 4% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 57.9% | ▼ 0% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 626 | top 27% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.2:1
Leaner classes than 55% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
626
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
57.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 0% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.2:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 65% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
0.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$14,886
per pupil, district-wide
- below Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 626 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 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
African American 96.0%
Two or More 2.2%
Hispanic or Latino 0.8%
Asian 0.5%
White 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 96.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 7.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 7.8, Discovery Cs is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Discovery Cs, which includes Discovery Cs.
$14,886
Per student
-17%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 76.0%
State 0.7%
Federal 23.3%
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 elementary schools in Philadelphia
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Northeast Community Propel Academy
Standard public school
1,783 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Mayfair Sch
Standard public school
1,763 students 21:1 students per teacher
Solis-Cohen Solomon Sch
Standard public school
1,350 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Mast Community Cs Iii
Standard public school
1,290 students 16.5:1 students per teacher
Moore J Hampton Sch
Standard public school
1,192 students 17:1 students per teacher
Farrell Louis H Sch
Standard public school
1,187 students 18:1 students per teacher
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~626 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Discovery Cs's federal record.
- Compare Discovery Cs against another school. Compare schools
- Discovery Cs'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 Discovery Cs
How many students attend Discovery Cs?
Discovery Cs has 626 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Discovery Cs?
The student-teacher ratio at Discovery Cs is 14.2:1, which is 4% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 10% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Discovery Cs?
57.9% of students at Discovery Cs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Discovery Cs?
The largest demographic group at Discovery Cs is African American at 96.0% of enrollment, in Philadelphia, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Discovery Cs?
Discovery Cs has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical 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).
How does Discovery Cs rank among elementary schools in Philadelphia?
By Resource Investment Index, Discovery Cs ranks #23 of 131 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Philadelphia on the city page.
Is Discovery Cs a good school?
Discovery Cs earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Pennsylvania median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Pennsylvania 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 Discovery Cs?
None; Discovery Cs is a single-school charter district, and Discovery Cs is its only campus.
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.