Enrollment
35
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Sentinel, AZ
Sentinel Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Sentinel Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 040768000669
👥 S:T ratio 72
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sentinel Elementary School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Arizona schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Arizona schools.
- 39
- Resource Index · Typical
- 7:1
- small classes for Arizona
- 63.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 35
- students enrolled
Sentinel Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 96% of Arizona schools. Computed live against every Arizona school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Sentinel Elementary District (4250) · Arizona
NCES ID 040768000669 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7:1
vs 17:1 Arizona avg
-59% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.2%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
+31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sentinel Elementary School compares with Arizona and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sentinel Elementary School
Sentinel Elementary School is a higher-need, small elementary school in Sentinel, Arizona, enrolling 35 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 7:1, Sentinel Elementary School is leaner than roughly 96% of Arizona schools and 59% under the state's 17:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 63.2% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of Arizona schools, with 35 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,064 scored Arizona schools.
Against 18 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #7.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (89% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 20/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Sentinel Elementary District (4250) spends $40,306 per pupil, 207% above the Arizona average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 22.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Sentinel Elementary District (4250) operates only this one school, so Sentinel Elementary School has no district-mates to compare against locally. At 35 students, it is also a small operation, on the smaller end of Arizona's single-school districts.
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 Sentinel Elementary School compares
Sentinel Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Arizona and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 7:1 | ▼ 59% | 17:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.2% | ▲ 31% | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 35 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
7:1
Leaner classes than 97% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
35
Bigger than 4% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
63.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 31% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
7:1
students per teacher
- 59% below state mean
Top 4% in Arizona - lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
34.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$40,306
per pupil, district-wide
- above Arizona avg of $13,145
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
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
- 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 88.6%
White 11.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.2, Sentinel Elementary School is less mixed than the Arizona school average of 47.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sentinel Elementary District (4250), which includes Sentinel Elementary School.
$40,306
Per student
+207%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,145
+143%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 63.0%
State 14.8%
Federal 22.2%
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 elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arizona, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~35 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sentinel Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Sentinel Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Sentinel Elementary District (4250)'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 Sentinel Elementary School
How many students attend Sentinel Elementary School?
Sentinel Elementary School has 35 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Sentinel, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sentinel Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sentinel Elementary School is 7:1, which is 59% lower than the Arizona average of 17:1 and 55% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sentinel Elementary School?
63.2% of students at Sentinel Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sentinel Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Sentinel Elementary School is Hispanic or Latino at 88.6% of enrollment, in Sentinel, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sentinel Elementary School?
Sentinel Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Sentinel Elementary School a good school?
Sentinel Elementary School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Arizona schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Arizona 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 Sentinel Elementary District (4250)?
None reported; Sentinel Elementary District (4250) operates only Sentinel Elementary School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.