Enrollment
345
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010021102505 Charter school
Magic City Acceptance Academy — Birmingham, AL
Federal NCES profile for Magic City Acceptance Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 29
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 68
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: Magic City Acceptance 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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.8:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.5%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Magic City Acceptance Academy 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
Magic City Acceptance Academy reports 345 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 0% 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 12% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% below the Alabama average and 31% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Magic City Acceptance Academy spends $18,239 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 16.8% from local sources (property taxes), 64.7% from the state, and 18.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), calculated from 3 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 Magic City Acceptance Academy 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 | 17.8:1 | ▼ 0% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.5% | ▼ 40% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 345 | top 26% | — | — |
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
35.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.8:1
students per teacher
— 0% above state mean
Top 52% in Alabama — lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.0%
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
$18,239
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 345 Top 26% in Alabama — larger than 74% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 17.8:1 +0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.5% -40% vs state
NCES ID 010021102505
Student demographics
White 53.0%
Hispanic or Latino 30.1%
African American 11.0%
Two or More 4.3%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 53.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Magic City Acceptance Academy, which includes Magic City Acceptance Academy.
$18,239
Per student
+26%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 16.8%
State 64.7%
Federal 18.6%
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 Birmingham
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Huffman High Schoolmagnet
Standard public school
1,094 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Glen Iris Elementary School
Standard public school
827 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Chalkville Elementary School
Standard public school
818 students 22.5:1 students per teacher
Huffman Academy
Standard public school
779 students 18.8:1 students per teacher
Jacksonolin High School
Standard public school
713 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Bryant Park Elementary
Standard public school
707 students 19.1:1 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 Magic City Acceptance Academy
How many students attend Magic City Acceptance Academy?
Magic City Acceptance Academy has 345 students enrolled. It is a other school in Birmingham, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Magic City Acceptance Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Magic City Acceptance Academy is 17.8:1, which is 0% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 12% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Magic City Acceptance Academy?
35.5% of students at Magic City Acceptance Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Magic City Acceptance Academy?
The largest demographic group at Magic City Acceptance Academy is White at 53.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Birmingham, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Magic City Acceptance Academy?
Magic City Acceptance Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) based on 3 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.