Enrollment
823
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 120168004199 Charter school
Sarasota Suncoast Academy — Sarasota, FL
Federal NCES profile for Sarasota Suncoast Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 53
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
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)
51.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
26.3%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
-49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sarasota Suncoast Academy compares with Florida 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
Sarasota Suncoast Academy reports 823 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 51.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% below the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 26.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 49% below the Florida average and 49% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 823 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sarasota spends $14,758 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 77.1% from local sources (property taxes), 11.5% from the state, and 11.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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 Sarasota Suncoast Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.4:1 | ▼ 10% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 26.3% | ▼ 49% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 823 | top 71% | — | — |
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
26.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 49% below the Florida average of 52.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.4:1
students per teacher
— 10% below state mean
Top 45% in Florida — lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.6%
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
$14,758
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 823 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
20
in-school suspensions + 25 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 823 Top 71% in Florida — larger than 29% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 51.0
Students per teacher 16.4:1 -10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 26.3% -49% vs state
NCES ID 120168004199
Student demographics
White 81.0%
Hispanic or Latino 12.5%
Two or More 5.0%
African American 0.9%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: White at 81.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 823:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.6%
In-school suspensions 20
Out-of-school suspensions 25
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sarasota, which includes Sarasota Suncoast Academy.
$14,758
Per student
+16%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 77.1%
State 11.5%
Federal 11.3%
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
- 2,637
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 2,579
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,359
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,752
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar elementary schools in Sarasota
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Bay Haven School of Basics Plus
Standard public school
547 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
Dreamers Academy
Standard public school
519 students 12.7:1 students per teacher
Sarasota Academy of the Arts
Standard public school
193 students 11.4:1 students per teacher
Suncoast School for Innovative Studies
Standard public school
96 students 11.8:1 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 Sarasota Suncoast Academy
How many students attend Sarasota Suncoast Academy?
Sarasota Suncoast Academy has 823 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in SARASOTA, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sarasota Suncoast Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Sarasota Suncoast Academy is 16.4:1, which is 10% lower than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 3% 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 Sarasota Suncoast Academy?
26.3% of students at Sarasota Suncoast Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sarasota Suncoast Academy?
The largest demographic group at Sarasota Suncoast Academy is White at 81.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in SARASOTA, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sarasota Suncoast Academy?
Sarasota Suncoast Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.