Enrollment
198
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 360015205940
Life Academy High School for Film and Music — Brooklyn, NY
Federal NCES profile for Life Academy High School for Film and Music, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 24/100.
👥 Class size 56
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 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: New York City Geographic District #21 · New York
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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.9:1
vs 11.7:1 New York avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
83.3%
vs 56.2% New York avg
+48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Life Academy High School for Film and Music compares with New York 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
Life Academy High School for Film and Music reports 198 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% below the New York state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 83.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% above the New York average and 61% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 100.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (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 Life Academy High School for Film and Music compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New York state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.9:1 | ▼ 7% | 11.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 83.3% | ▲ 48% | 56.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 198 | top 10% | — | — |
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
83.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% above the New York average of 56.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.9:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 41% in New York — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
100.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Overview
Enrollment 198 Top 10% in New York — larger than 90% of 4,812 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 10.9:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 83.3% +48% vs state
NCES ID 360015205940
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 44.4%
White 34.8%
Asian 11.6%
African American 7.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Two or More 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 44.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 100.0%
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,503
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,210
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 2,209
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,555
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 1,435
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
Similar high schools in Brooklyn
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Brooklyn Technical High School
Standard public school
5,848 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Fort Hamilton High School
Standard public school
4,044 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
James Madison High School
Standard public school
3,983 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
Midwood High School
Standard public school
3,657 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Edward R Murrow High School
Standard public school
3,503 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School
Standard public school
3,403 students 13.7:1 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 Life Academy High School for Film and Music
How many students attend Life Academy High School for Film and Music?
Life Academy High School for Film and Music has 198 students enrolled. It is a high school in BROOKLYN, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Life Academy High School for Film and Music?
The student-teacher ratio at Life Academy High School for Film and Music is 10.9:1, which is 7% lower than the New York average of 11.7:1 and 31% 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 Life Academy High School for Film and Music?
83.3% of students at Life Academy High School for Film and Music are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Life Academy High School for Film and Music?
The largest demographic group at Life Academy High School for Film and Music is Hispanic or Latino at 44.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in BROOKLYN, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Life Academy High School for Film and Music?
Life Academy High School for Film and Music has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (F) based on 4 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.