Elementary school (grades K-5) · Phoenix, AZ

South Mountain Preparatory Academy

Federal NCES profile for South Mountain Preparatory Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 15/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 040088203409Charter school
0/100100/10015/100
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

South Mountain Preparatory Academy earns 15/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.

#93 of 116
elementary schools in Phoenix · Resource Index
15
Resource Index · Lower
59.7%
free-lunch eligible
72
students enrolled

By Resource Investment Index, South Mountain Preparatory Academy ranks #93 of 116 elementary schools in Phoenix, AZ.

NCES CCD universe card

School universe 040088203409 · Phoenix, AZ Elementary · SMALL · CHARTER

72 enr · 59.7% lunch · RII 15

Nearest enrollment peer: Shasta Elementary (100 students)

Resource Investment Index #93 of 116 elementary schools in Phoenix. NCES Common Core of Data stamps for this campus. Read with this school → · District book → · Arizona schools → · Find another →

How South Mountain Preparatory Academy compares

South Mountain Preparatory Academy on the metrics families compare, against Arizona and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Arizona Arizona avg U.S. avg
Free-lunch eligible 59.7% ▲ 24% 48.3% 51.7%
Enrollment 72 top 86% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

72
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
59.7%
free-lunch eligible - 24% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
55.6%
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
$17,269
per pupil, district-wide - above Arizona avg of $13,502
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
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.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 75.0%
African American 15.3%
White 4.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 4.2%
Two or More 1.4%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 41.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 41.0, South Mountain Preparatory Academy is less mixed than the Arizona school average of 47.2.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kaizen Education Foundation Dba Advance U (91329), which includes South Mountain Preparatory Academy.

$17,269
Per student
+28%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,502
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 7.9%
State 60.9%
Federal 31.1%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

Similar elementary schools in Phoenix

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Nationwide elementary schools with similar size or staffing

Out-of-state peers matched by enrollment and by student-teacher ratio, not the same-city or same-district lists above.

Frequently asked questions about South Mountain Preparatory Academy

How many students attend South Mountain Preparatory Academy?

South Mountain Preparatory Academy has 72 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Phoenix, AZ.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at South Mountain Preparatory Academy?

59.7% of students at South Mountain Preparatory Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of South Mountain Preparatory Academy?

The largest demographic group at South Mountain Preparatory Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment, in Phoenix, AZ.

What is the Resource Investment Index for South Mountain Preparatory Academy?

South Mountain Preparatory Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 15/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.

How does South Mountain Preparatory Academy rank among elementary schools in Phoenix?

By Resource Investment Index, South Mountain Preparatory Academy ranks #93 of 116 elementary schools in Phoenix, AZ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Phoenix on the city page.

What other schools are in Kaizen Education Foundation Dba Advance U (91329)?

None; Kaizen Education Foundation Dba Advance U (91329) is a single-school charter district, and South Mountain Preparatory Academy is its only campus.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2022-23) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.