Enrollment
104
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 020039000296 Charter school
Fireweed Academy — Homer, AK
Federal NCES profile for Fireweed Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 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: Kenai Peninsula Borough School District · Alaska
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)
7.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 20:1 Alaska avg
-23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.1%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fireweed Academy compares with Alaska 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
Fireweed Academy reports 104 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 7.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% below the Alaska state mean of 20:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 56% below the Alaska average and 48% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 90.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Kenai Peninsula Borough School District spends $20,460 per pupil district-wide, below the Alaska average of $36,093 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 29.3% from local sources (property taxes), 54.5% from the state, and 16.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F), 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 Fireweed Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alaska state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▼ 23% | 20:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.1% | ▼ 56% | 61.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 104 | top 36% | — | — |
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
27.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 56% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 23% below state mean
Top 52% in Alaska — lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
90.4%
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
$20,460
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alaska avg of $36,093
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 104 Top 36% in Alaska — larger than 64% of 496 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 7.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 -23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.1% -56% vs state
NCES ID 020039000296
Student demographics
White 72.1%
Two or More 11.5%
Hispanic or Latino 8.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 7.7%
Largest group: White at 72.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 90.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, which includes Fireweed Academy.
$20,460
Per student
-43%
vs Alaska
Avg $36,093
+5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 29.3%
State 54.5%
Federal 16.1%
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
- 1,188
- Students per teacher
- 64.8:1
- Enrollment
- 695
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 525
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 449
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 408
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Homer
2 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 Fireweed Academy
How many students attend Fireweed Academy?
Fireweed Academy has 104 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Homer, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fireweed Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Fireweed Academy is 15.3:1, which is 23% lower than the Alaska average of 20:1 and 4% 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 Fireweed Academy?
27.1% of students at Fireweed Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fireweed Academy?
The largest demographic group at Fireweed Academy is White at 72.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Homer, AK.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fireweed Academy?
Fireweed Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F) 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.