Enrollment
4,239
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cedar City, UT
Southwest Educational Academy
Federal NCES profile for Southwest Educational Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 490039000872
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 72
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Southwest Educational Academy earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also one of the largest schools in Utah.
- #1 of 3
- schools in Cedar City · Resource Index
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 22.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 4,239
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Southwest Educational Academy ranks #1 of 3 schools in Cedar City, UT.
School address
District: Iron District · Utah
NCES ID 490039000872 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Free-lunch eligible
22.6%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-19% vs state
What stands out at Southwest Educational Academy
Southwest Educational Academy is a large combined-grade school in Cedar City, Utah, enrolling 4,239 students.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 22.6% lands close to the Utah typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Utah, bigger than 99% of state schools at 4,239 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,065 scored Utah schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 21/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 2120 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
11.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Iron District also operates Cedar City High (1,372 students) and Cedar Middle (1,139 students) alongside Southwest Educational Academy.
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 Southwest Educational Academy compares
Southwest Educational Academy on the metrics families compare, against Utah and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.6% | ▼ 19% | 28.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 4,239 | top 1% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
4,239
Bigger than 99% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
22.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 19% below the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Engagement
11.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$8,010
per pupil, district-wide
- below Utah avg of $9,792
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 2120 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 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
White 88.8%
Hispanic or Latino 6.3%
Asian 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.1%
African American 1.0%
Two or More 0.4%
Largest group: White at 88.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.7, Southwest Educational Academy is less mixed than the Utah school average of 40.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Iron District, which includes Southwest Educational Academy.
$8,010
Per student
-18%
vs Utah
Avg $9,792
-52%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.1%
State 58.4%
Federal 13.5%
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.
How Southwest Educational Academy Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar City High | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Cedar Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Canyon View High | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Canyon View Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
| Three Peaks School | Smaller | Similar economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Southwest Educational Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,372
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 1,139
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,021
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 948
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 646
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Resource Index
- 13/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Utah, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Southwest Educational Academy's federal record.
- Compare Southwest Educational Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Iron District'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 Southwest Educational Academy
How many students attend Southwest Educational Academy?
Southwest Educational Academy has 4,239 students enrolled. It is an alternative school in Cedar City, UT.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Southwest Educational Academy?
22.6% of students at Southwest Educational Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southwest Educational Academy?
The largest demographic group at Southwest Educational Academy is White at 88.8% of enrollment, in Cedar City, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southwest Educational Academy?
Southwest Educational Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Southwest Educational Academy rank among schools in Cedar City?
By Resource Investment Index, Southwest Educational Academy ranks #1 of 3 schools in Cedar City, UT. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Cedar City on the city page.
Is Southwest Educational Academy a good school?
Southwest Educational Academy earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also one of the largest schools in Utah. 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 Iron District?
Besides Southwest Educational Academy, Iron District also operates Cedar City High (1,372 students), Cedar Middle (1,139 students), and Canyon View High (1,021 students). See the Iron District district page for the complete list.
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.