Enrollment
495
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040176001487
Esperero Canyon Middle School — Tucson, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Esperero Canyon Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 20
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: Catalina Foothills Unified District (4410) · 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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.7:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-79% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Esperero Canyon Middle 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
Esperero Canyon Middle School reports 495 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% below the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 10.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 79% below the Arizona average and 81% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 248 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Catalina Foothills Unified District (4410) spends $11,052 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 61.5% from local sources (property taxes), 30.3% from the state, and 8.2% 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 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 Esperero Canyon Middle 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 | 14.7:1 | ▼ 17% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.0% | ▼ 79% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 495 | top 60% | — | — |
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
10.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 79% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.7:1
students per teacher
— 17% below state mean
Top 28% in Arizona — lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
32.1%
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
$11,052
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 248 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
25
in-school suspensions + 42 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 495 Top 60% in Arizona — larger than 40% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 14.7:1 -17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 10.0% -79% vs state
NCES ID 040176001487
Student demographics
White 52.1%
Hispanic or Latino 35.2%
Two or More 7.1%
Asian 3.8%
African American 1.8%
Largest group: White at 52.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 248:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.1%
In-school suspensions 25
Out-of-school suspensions 42
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Catalina Foothills Unified District (4410), which includes Esperero Canyon Middle School.
$11,052
Per student
-27%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 61.5%
State 30.3%
Federal 8.2%
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
- 1,865
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Enrollment
- 683
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 579
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 411
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
Similar middle schools in Tucson
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Lawrence W Cross Middle School
Standard public school
827 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
Mansfeld Middle Magnet School
Standard public school
794 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Flowing Wells Junior High School
Standard public school
758 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Desert Sky Middle School
Standard public school
743 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Rincon Vista Middle School
Standard public school
712 students 21.2:1 students per teacher
Orange Grove Middle School
Standard public school
683 students 17.8:1 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 Esperero Canyon Middle School
How many students attend Esperero Canyon Middle School?
Esperero Canyon Middle School has 495 students enrolled. It is a middle school in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Esperero Canyon Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Esperero Canyon Middle School is 14.7:1, which is 17% lower than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 8% 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 Esperero Canyon Middle School?
10.0% of students at Esperero Canyon Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Esperero Canyon Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Esperero Canyon Middle School is White at 52.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Esperero Canyon Middle School?
Esperero Canyon Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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.