Enrollment
383
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 290057403183 Charter school
Lift for Life Academy High Sch — St Louis, MO
Federal NCES profile for Lift for Life Academy High Sch, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 50
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 62
📋 Attendance 19
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: Lift for Life Academy · Missouri
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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.5:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.1%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
+115% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lift for Life Academy High Sch compares with Missouri 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
Lift for Life Academy High Sch reports 383 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% below the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 21% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 99.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 115% above the Missouri average and 91% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 192 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lift for Life Academy spends $18,440 per pupil district-wide, above the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.7% from local sources (property taxes), 55.0% from the state, and 24.3% 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 5 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 Lift for Life Academy High Sch compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Missouri state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.5:1 | ▼ 3% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.1% | ▲ 115% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 383 | top 62% | — | — |
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
99.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 115% above the Missouri average of 46.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.5:1
students per teacher
— 3% below state mean
Top 45% in Missouri — lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
32.4%
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
$18,440
per pupil, district-wide
— above Missouri avg of $15,248
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 192 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 55 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 383 Top 62% in Missouri — larger than 38% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 12.5:1 -3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 99.1% +115% vs state
NCES ID 290057403183
Student demographics
African American 97.9%
White 1.0%
Two or More 1.0%
Largest group: African American at 97.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 192:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 55
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lift for Life Academy, which includes Lift for Life Academy High Sch.
$18,440
Per student
+21%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.7%
State 55.0%
Federal 24.3%
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
- 260
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Enrollment
- 222
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
Similar high schools in St Louis
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Ritenour Sr. High
Standard public school
2,041 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Oakville Sr. High
Standard public school
1,847 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Ladue Horton Watkins High
Standard public school
1,395 students 14:1 students per teacher
Mehlville High School
Standard public school
1,388 students 14.1:1 students per teacher
Hazelwood East High
Standard public school
1,310 students 21.1:1 students per teacher
Webster Groves High
Standard public school
1,253 students 14.3:1 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 Lift for Life Academy High Sch
How many students attend Lift for Life Academy High Sch?
Lift for Life Academy High Sch has 383 students enrolled. It is a high school in ST LOUIS, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lift for Life Academy High Sch?
The student-teacher ratio at Lift for Life Academy High Sch is 12.5:1, which is 3% lower than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 21% 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 Lift for Life Academy High Sch?
99.1% of students at Lift for Life Academy High Sch are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lift for Life Academy High Sch?
The largest demographic group at Lift for Life Academy High Sch is African American at 97.9%. The school serves a student body in ST LOUIS, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lift for Life Academy High Sch?
Lift for Life Academy High Sch has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (F) based on 5 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.