Enrollment
206
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 040002101276
El Capitan Public School — Colorado City, AZ
Federal NCES profile for El Capitan Public School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 19
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 0
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: Colorado City Unified District (4370) · Arizona
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)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.3:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
58.8%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
+22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How El Capitan Public School compares with Arizona 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
El Capitan Public School reports 206 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 12.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 58.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 22% above the Arizona average and 14% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 206 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 51.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Colorado City Unified District (4370) spends $23,512 per pupil district-wide, above the Arizona average of $15,070 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.7% from local sources (property taxes), 48.4% from the state, and 28.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F), 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 El Capitan Public School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.3:1 | ▲ 15% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 58.8% | ▲ 22% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 206 | top 29% | — | — |
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
58.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 22% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.3:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 75% in Arizona — lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
51.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$23,512
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arizona avg of $15,070
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 206 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 206 Top 29% in Arizona — larger than 71% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 12.0
Students per teacher 20.3:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 58.8% +22% vs state
NCES ID 040002101276
Student demographics
White 93.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.4%
Two or More 2.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1.0%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 93.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 206:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 51.0%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colorado City Unified District (4370), which includes El Capitan Public School.
$23,512
Per student
+56%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
+21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.7%
State 48.4%
Federal 28.9%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 338
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
Similar other schools in Colorado City
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 El Capitan Public School
How many students attend El Capitan Public School?
El Capitan Public School has 206 students enrolled. It is a other school in Colorado City, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at El Capitan Public School?
The student-teacher ratio at El Capitan Public School is 20.3:1, which is 15% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 28% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at El Capitan Public School?
58.8% of students at El Capitan Public School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of El Capitan Public School?
The largest demographic group at El Capitan Public School is White at 93.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Colorado City, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for El Capitan Public School?
El Capitan Public School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F) 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.