Enrollment
358
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 010020302470 Charter school
Lead Academy Building a — Montgomery, AL
Federal NCES profile for Lead Academy Building a, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 4
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 34
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: Lead Academy · Alabama
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
24.1:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lead Academy Building a compares with Alabama 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
Lead Academy Building a reports 358 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 35% above the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 52% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 55.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 6% below the Alabama average and 7% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 358 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lead Academy spends $11,634 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 1.9% from local sources (property taxes), 64.7% from the state, and 33.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 Lead Academy Building a compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 24.1:1 | ▲ 35% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.3% | ▼ 6% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 358 | top 28% | — | — |
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
55.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 6% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
24.1:1
students per teacher
— 35% above state mean
Top 98% in Alabama — lower ratio than 2% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
26.3%
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
$11,634
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 358 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 358 Top 28% in Alabama — larger than 72% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 24.1:1 +35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 55.3% -6% vs state
NCES ID 010020302470
Student demographics
African American 90.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
Two or More 3.1%
White 1.4%
Largest group: African American at 90.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 358:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lead Academy, which includes Lead Academy Building a.
$11,634
Per student
-20%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 1.9%
State 64.7%
Federal 33.4%
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
- 394
- Students per teacher
- 27.2:1
Similar elementary schools in Montgomery
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Forest Avenue Elementary School
Standard public school
617 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Life Academy at Historic St Jude Educational Institute
Standard public school
599 students 25.4:1 students per teacher
Brewbaker Intermediate School
Standard public school
549 students 20.2:1 students per teacher
Bear Exploration Center
Standard public school
507 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Lead Academy Building B
Standard public school
394 students 27.2:1 students per teacher
Macmillan International at Mckee
Standard public school
386 students 17.5:1 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 Lead Academy Building a
How many students attend Lead Academy Building a?
Lead Academy Building a has 358 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Montgomery, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lead Academy Building a?
The student-teacher ratio at Lead Academy Building a is 24.1:1, which is 35% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 52% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lead Academy Building a?
55.3% of students at Lead Academy Building a are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lead Academy Building a?
The largest demographic group at Lead Academy Building a is African American at 90.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Montgomery, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lead Academy Building a?
Lead Academy Building a has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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.