Enrollment
577
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 220032202495 Charter school
Lafayette Academy Charter School — New Orleans, LA
Federal NCES profile for Lafayette Academy Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 32
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 42
📋 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 Academy Charter School · 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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
96.7%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lafayette Academy Charter School 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
Lafayette Academy Charter School reports 577 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 96.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% above the Louisiana average and 87% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 289 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 0.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lafayette Academy Charter School spends $16,452 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 34.5% from local sources (property taxes), 28.0% from the state, and 37.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), 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 Lafayette Academy Charter School 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 | 17:1 | ▼ 9% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.7% | ▲ 55% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 577 | top 70% | — | — |
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
96.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 43% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 57% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
0.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$16,452
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 289 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 577 Top 70% in Louisiana — larger than 30% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 17:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 96.7% +55% vs state
NCES ID 220032202495
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 289:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 0.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lafayette Academy Charter School, which includes Lafayette Academy Charter School.
$16,452
Per student
-8%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 34.5%
State 28.0%
Federal 37.6%
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.
Similar other schools in New Orleans
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
The Willow School
Standard public school
2,225 students 18.1:1 students per teacher
Morris Jeff Community School
Standard public school
1,442 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Bricolage Academy
Standard public school
965 students
Kipp Morial
Standard public school
951 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
New Orleans Military & Maritime Academy
Standard public school
945 students 13.1:1 students per teacher
Audubon Charter School
Standard public school
937 students 15.7:1 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 Lafayette Academy Charter School
How many students attend Lafayette Academy Charter School?
Lafayette Academy Charter School has 577 students enrolled. It is a other school in New Orleans, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lafayette Academy Charter School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lafayette Academy Charter School is 17:1, which is 9% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 7% higher 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 Lafayette Academy Charter School?
96.7% of students at Lafayette Academy Charter School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lafayette Academy Charter School?
Lafayette Academy Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) 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.