Enrollment
803
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Hialeah, FL
Mater Gardens Academy
Federal NCES profile for Mater Gardens Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 120039006019Charter school
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 76
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mater Gardens Academy earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Florida schools.
- #1 of 4
- elementary schools in Hialeah · Resource Index
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 803
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Mater Gardens Academy ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Hialeah, FL.
School address
Free-lunch eligible
13.6%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-74% vs state
What stands out at Mater Gardens Academy
Mater Gardens Academy is a lower-poverty, mid-sized charter elementary school in Hialeah, Florida, enrolling 803 students.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 13.6% free-meal eligibility runs 74% below the Florida average.
Enrollment of 803 puts it in the larger third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 3,996 scored Florida schools.
Against 286 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #56.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 803 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 9.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 19.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Miami-Dade also operates John a. Ferguson Senior High (4,291 students) and Coral Reef Senior High School (3,399 students) alongside Mater Gardens Academy.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Mater Gardens Academy compares
Mater Gardens Academy on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.6% | ▼ 74% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 803 | top 30% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
803
Bigger than 86% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
13.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 74% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Engagement
9.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$12,258
per pupil, district-wide
- above Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 803 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
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 95.9%
White 2.1%
Asian 1.4%
African American 0.5%
Two or More 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 95.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.0, Mater Gardens Academy is less mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Miami-Dade, which includes Mater Gardens Academy.
$12,258
Per student
+10%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 57.2%
State 23.3%
Federal 19.5%
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.
How Mater Gardens Academy Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| John a. Ferguson Senior High | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Coral Reef Senior High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| South Dade Senior High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Miami Senior High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
| Hialeah Gardens Senior High School | Larger | Higher economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Mater Gardens Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,291
- Students per teacher
- 26.3:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 3,399
- Students per teacher
- 27:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 3,382
- Students per teacher
- 27.7:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 3,100
- Students per teacher
- 25.8:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 3,009
- Students per teacher
- 28.4:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mater Gardens Academy's federal record.
- Compare Mater Gardens Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Miami-Dade's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Mater Gardens Academy
How many students attend Mater Gardens Academy?
Mater Gardens Academy has 803 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Hialeah, FL.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mater Gardens Academy?
13.6% of students at Mater Gardens Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mater Gardens Academy?
The largest demographic group at Mater Gardens Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 95.9% of enrollment, in Hialeah, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mater Gardens Academy?
Mater Gardens Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Mater Gardens Academy rank among elementary schools in Hialeah?
By Resource Investment Index, Mater Gardens Academy ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Hialeah, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Hialeah on the city page.
Is Mater Gardens Academy a good school?
Mater Gardens Academy earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Florida schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Miami-Dade?
Besides Mater Gardens Academy, Miami-Dade also operates John a. Ferguson Senior High (4,291 students), Coral Reef Senior High School (3,399 students), and South Dade Senior High School (3,382 students). See the Miami-Dade district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.