Enrollment
156
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 050040201531 Charter school
Flightline Upper Academy — Lrafb, AR
Federal NCES profile for Flightline Upper Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 66/100.
👥 Class size 61
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 69
📋 Attendance 63
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: Arkansas Lighthouse Academies · Arkansas
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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.7:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Flightline Upper Academy compares with Arkansas 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
Flightline Upper Academy reports 156 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% below the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 39% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% above the Arkansas average and 93% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 156 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Arkansas Lighthouse Academies spends $18,123 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 8.7% from local sources (property taxes), 50.4% from the state, and 40.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (B-), 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 Flightline Upper Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.7:1 | ▼ 29% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 69% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 156 | top 8% | — | — |
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
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
9.7:1
students per teacher
— 29% below state mean
Top 19% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
14.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$18,123
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 156 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 156 Top 8% in Arkansas — larger than 92% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 9.7:1 -29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +69% vs state
NCES ID 050040201531
Student demographics
African American 64.7%
White 22.4%
Hispanic or Latino 7.1%
Two or More 4.5%
Asian 1.3%
Largest group: African American at 64.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 156:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Arkansas Lighthouse Academies, which includes Flightline Upper Academy.
$18,123
Per student
+27%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 8.7%
State 50.4%
Federal 40.9%
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
- 210
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 145
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 124
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 63
- Students per teacher
- 10.5:1
- Enrollment
- 60
- 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 Flightline Upper Academy
How many students attend Flightline Upper Academy?
Flightline Upper Academy has 156 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in LRAFB, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Flightline Upper Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Flightline Upper Academy is 9.7:1, which is 29% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 39% 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 Flightline Upper Academy?
100.0% of students at Flightline Upper Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Flightline Upper Academy?
The largest demographic group at Flightline Upper Academy is African American at 64.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in LRAFB, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Flightline Upper Academy?
Flightline Upper Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (B-) 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.