Enrollment
257
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 220087002072
Early College Academy — Lafayette, LA
Federal NCES profile for Early College Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 0
📚 AP courses 5
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 99
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: Lafayette Parish · Louisiana
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)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
30.6:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
+65% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.1%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Early College Academy compares with Louisiana 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
Early College Academy reports 257 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 8.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 30.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 65% above the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 92% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Louisiana average and 53% below the national baseline. The school offers 1 Advanced Placement course, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 257 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 0.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lafayette Parish spends $13,877 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.5% from local sources (property taxes), 32.8% from the state, and 15.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Early College Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 30.6:1 | ▲ 65% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.1% | ▼ 61% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 257 | top 20% | — | — |
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
24.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
30.6:1
students per teacher
— 65% above state mean
Top 98% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 2% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
0.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$13,877
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 257 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 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. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 257 Top 20% in Louisiana — larger than 80% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 8.0
Students per teacher 30.6:1 +65% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.1% -61% vs state
NCES ID 220087002072
Student demographics
White 58.0%
African American 19.8%
Two or More 8.9%
Asian 7.0%
Hispanic or Latino 6.2%
Largest group: White at 58.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 1
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 257:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 0.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lafayette Parish, which includes Early College Academy.
$13,877
Per student
-22%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.5%
State 32.8%
Federal 15.7%
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
- 1,833
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,720
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,652
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,362
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,261
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
Similar high schools in Lafayette
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Lafayette High School
Standard public school
1,720 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
Acadiana High School
Standard public school
1,652 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
Carencro High School
Standard public school
1,116 students 18.9:1 students per teacher
O. Comeaux High School
Standard public school
873 students 19.6:1 students per teacher
Northside High School
Standard public school
713 students 16:1 students per teacher
Jcfa Lafayette
Alternative education program
56 students 45:1 students per teacher
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 Early College Academy
How many students attend Early College Academy?
Early College Academy has 257 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lafayette, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Early College Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Early College Academy is 30.6:1, which is 65% higher than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 92% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Early College Academy?
24.1% of students at Early College Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Early College Academy?
The largest demographic group at Early College Academy is White at 58.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lafayette, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Early College Academy?
Early College Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.