Enrollment
575
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 050007401624 Charter school
Lisa Academy Chenal — Little Rock, AR
Federal NCES profile for Lisa Academy Chenal, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 58
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: Lisa Academy Charter · 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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.4%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lisa Academy Chenal 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
Lisa Academy Chenal reports 575 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 59.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 0% above the Arkansas average and 15% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 230 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lisa Academy Charter spends $11,632 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 8.6% from local sources (property taxes), 68.3% from the state, and 23.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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 Lisa Academy Chenal 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 | 16.5:1 | ▲ 21% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.4% | ▲ 0% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 575 | top 77% | — | — |
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
59.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 0% 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
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 75% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.9%
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
$11,632
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.5 FTE
Per 230 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 575 Top 77% in Arkansas — larger than 23% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 59.4% +0% vs state
NCES ID 050007401624
Student demographics
African American 46.6%
Hispanic or Latino 33.0%
White 9.9%
Asian 6.3%
Two or More 4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 46.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.5
Students per counselor 230:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.9%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lisa Academy Charter, which includes Lisa Academy Chenal.
$11,632
Per student
-18%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 8.6%
State 68.3%
Federal 23.1%
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
- 654
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 450
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 430
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 394
- Students per teacher
- 9.4:1
- Enrollment
- 393
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
Similar elementary schools in Little Rock
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Arkansas Virtual Academy
Standard public school
1,387 students 28.9:1 students per teacher
Don Roberts Elementary School
Standard public school
1,035 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
J.a. Fair K8 Preparatory School
Standard public school
779 students 13:1 students per teacher
Forest Heights Stem Academy
Standard public school
777 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock
Standard public school
754 students 10:1 students per teacher
Estem Elementary School
Standard public school
672 students 15.6:1 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 Lisa Academy Chenal
How many students attend Lisa Academy Chenal?
Lisa Academy Chenal has 575 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in LITTLE ROCK, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lisa Academy Chenal?
The student-teacher ratio at Lisa Academy Chenal is 16.5:1, which is 21% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lisa Academy Chenal?
59.4% of students at Lisa Academy Chenal are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lisa Academy Chenal?
The largest demographic group at Lisa Academy Chenal is African American at 46.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in LITTLE ROCK, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lisa Academy Chenal?
Lisa Academy Chenal has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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.