Enrollment
450
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 490017501455 Charter school
Mountain West Montessori Academy — South Jordan, UT
Federal NCES profile for Mountain West Montessori Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 17/100.
👥 Class size 16
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 10
📋 Attendance 12
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: Mountain West Montessori Academy · Utah
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)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.3%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mountain West Montessori Academy compares with Utah 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
Mountain West Montessori Academy reports 450 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 22.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 32% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 12.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 56% below the Utah average and 76% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 450 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 35.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mountain West Montessori Academy spends $8,302 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 3.0% from local sources (property taxes), 87.6% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 17/100 (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 Mountain West Montessori Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21:1 | ▼ 9% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.3% | ▼ 56% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 450 | top 38% | — | — |
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
12.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 56% below the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 40% in Utah — lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
35.3%
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
$8,302
per pupil, district-wide
— below Utah avg of $12,354
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 450 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 450 Top 38% in Utah — larger than 62% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 22.0
Students per teacher 21:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 12.3% -56% vs state
NCES ID 490017501455
Student demographics
White 66.8%
Hispanic or Latino 21.8%
Two or More 7.6%
Asian 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 66.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 1
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 450:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 35.3%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mountain West Montessori Academy, which includes Mountain West Montessori Academy.
$8,302
Per student
-33%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-57%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 3.0%
State 87.6%
Federal 9.4%
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 South Jordan
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Mountain West Montessori Academy
How many students attend Mountain West Montessori Academy?
Mountain West Montessori Academy has 450 students enrolled. It is a other school in South Jordan, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mountain West Montessori Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Mountain West Montessori Academy is 21:1, which is 9% lower than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 32% higher 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 Mountain West Montessori Academy?
12.3% of students at Mountain West Montessori Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mountain West Montessori Academy?
The largest demographic group at Mountain West Montessori Academy is White at 66.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in South Jordan, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mountain West Montessori Academy?
Mountain West Montessori Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 17/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.