Enrollment
92
Ohio · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Garfield Heights, OH
Smart Academy
Federal NCES profile for Smart Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 390160005964Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Smart Academy earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 92% of Ohio schools.
- #1 of 4
- elementary schools in Garfield Heights · Resource Index
- 28
- Resource Index · Lower
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Ohio
- 97.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Smart Academy has class sizes smaller than 92% of Ohio schools. Computed live against every Ohio school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Smart Academy ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Garfield Heights, OH.
School address
District: Smart Academy · Ohio
NCES ID 390160005964 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
8.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 18.2:1 Ohio avg
-37% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
97.0%
vs 31.6% Ohio avg
+207% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Smart Academy compares with Ohio and U.S. medians
What stands out at Smart Academy
Smart Academy is a high-poverty, small charter elementary school in Garfield Heights, Ohio, enrolling 92 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.5:1, Smart Academy is leaner than roughly 92% of Ohio schools and 37% under the state's 18.2:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 97.0% of students qualify for free meals, 207% above the Ohio average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 94% of Ohio schools, with 92 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 3,574 scored Ohio schools.
Its student body is predominantly African American (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 85.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 23.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Garfield Heights's elementary schools, it stands alongside Elmwood Elementary School (374 students): Smart Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.5:1 vs 17.8:1).
Smart Academy is a single-school charter district, so Smart Academy operates independently rather than alongside district-mates. At 92 students, it is also a small operation, on the smaller end of Ohio'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 Smart Academy compares
Smart Academy on the metrics families compare, against Ohio and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Ohio | Ohio avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 37% | 18.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 97.0% | ▲ 207% | 31.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 92 | top 94% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
92
Bigger than 9% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
97.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 207% above the Ohio average of 31.6%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 37% below state mean
Top 8% in Ohio - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
85.9%
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
$14,425
per pupil, district-wide
- below Ohio avg of $14,655
Somewhat 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
- 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
African American 89.1%
Hispanic or Latino 5.4%
Two or More 3.3%
White 2.2%
Largest group: African American at 89.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.2, Smart Academy is less mixed than the Ohio school average of 35.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Smart Academy, which includes Smart Academy.
$14,425
Per student
-2%
vs Ohio
Avg $14,655
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 3.5%
State 73.1%
Federal 23.4%
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 elementary schools in Garfield Heights
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Ohio, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~92 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Smart Academy's federal record.
- Compare Smart Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Smart Academy'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 Smart Academy
How many students attend Smart Academy?
Smart Academy has 92 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Garfield Heights, OH.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smart Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Smart Academy is 11.5:1, which is 37% lower than the Ohio average of 18.2:1 and 27% 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 Smart Academy?
97.0% of students at Smart Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Ohio average of 31.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Smart Academy?
The largest demographic group at Smart Academy is African American at 89.1% of enrollment, in Garfield Heights, OH.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Smart Academy?
Smart Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower 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).
How does Smart Academy rank among elementary schools in Garfield Heights?
By Resource Investment Index, Smart Academy ranks #1 of 4 elementary schools in Garfield Heights, OH. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Garfield Heights on the city page.
Is Smart Academy a good school?
Smart Academy earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 92% of Ohio 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 Smart Academy?
None; Smart Academy is a single-school charter district, and Smart Academy is its only campus.
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.