Enrollment
852
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 220018902349 Charter school
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy — Lake Charles, LA
Federal NCES profile for Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 31
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 55
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
District: Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy · Louisiana
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.2:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.1%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-57% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy compares with Louisiana 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
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy reports 852 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 57% below the Louisiana average and 48% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy spends $17,264 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 62.0% from local sources (property taxes), 22.9% from the state, and 15.2% 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 3 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 Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.2:1 | ▼ 8% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.1% | ▼ 57% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 852 | top 90% | — | — |
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
27.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 57% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.2:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 46% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.2%
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
$17,264
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
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 + 84 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 852 Top 90% in Louisiana — larger than 10% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 17.2:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.1% -57% vs state
NCES ID 220018902349
Student demographics
African American 69.0%
Hispanic or Latino 21.7%
White 4.8%
Two or More 3.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Asian 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 69.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 84
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy, which includes Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy.
$17,264
Per student
-3%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 62.0%
State 22.9%
Federal 15.2%
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 other schools in Lake Charles
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Moss Bluff Elementary School
Standard public school
969 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
Lake Charles Charter Academy
Standard public school
951 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
A. a. Nelson Elementary School
Standard public school
736 students 17.2:1 students per teacher
St. John Elementary School
Standard public school
670 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Gillis Elementary School
Standard public school
650 students 15:1 students per teacher
Prien Lake Elementary School
Standard public school
639 students 16:1 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 Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy
How many students attend Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy?
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy has 852 students enrolled. It is a other school in Lake Charles, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy is 17.2:1, which is 8% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 8% 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 Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy?
27.1% of students at Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy?
The largest demographic group at Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy is African American at 69.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lake Charles, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy?
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.