Enrollment
62
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Mesa, AZ
Step Up School
Federal NCES profile for Step Up School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 040004003343Charter school
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Step Up School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.
- #7 of 26
- elementary schools in Mesa · Resource Index
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 81.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 62
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Step Up School ranks #7 of 26 elementary schools in Mesa, AZ.
School address
District: Step Up Schools Inc. (4313) · Arizona
NCES ID 040004003343 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
81.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
+68% vs state
What stands out at Step Up School
Step Up School is a high-poverty, small charter elementary school in Mesa, Arizona, enrolling 62 students.
Economic need is high: 81.0% of students qualify for free meals, 68% above the Arizona average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 62 puts it in the smaller third of Arizona schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,064 scored Arizona schools.
Against 18 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #8.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (74%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 40/100).
The surrounding Step Up Schools Inc. (4313) spends $17,145 per pupil, 30% above the Arizona average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 37.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Mesa's elementary schools, it stands alongside Legacy Traditional School - East Mesa (1,066 students): Step Up School is smaller than that campus by headcount.
Step Up Schools Inc. (4313) is a single-school charter district, so Step Up School operates independently rather than alongside district-mates.
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 Step Up School compares
Step Up School on the metrics families compare, against Arizona and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 81.0% | ▲ 68% | 48.3% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 62 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
62
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
81.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 68% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
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.
Funding equity
$17,145
per pupil, district-wide
- above Arizona avg of $13,145
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.
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 74.2%
African American 21.0%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 1.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 74.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 40.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 40.4, Step Up School is less mixed than the Arizona school average of 47.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Step Up Schools Inc. (4313), which includes Step Up School.
$17,145
Per student
+30%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,145
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 9.0%
State 53.2%
Federal 37.8%
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 Mesa
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 Arizona, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Step Up School's federal record.
- Compare Step Up School against another school. Compare schools
- Step Up Schools Inc. (4313)'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 Step Up School
How many students attend Step Up School?
Step Up School has 62 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Mesa, AZ.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Step Up School?
81.0% of students at Step Up School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Step Up School?
The largest demographic group at Step Up School is Hispanic or Latino at 74.2% of enrollment, in Mesa, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Step Up School?
Step Up School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 1 factor: student-teacher ratio. 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 Step Up School rank among elementary schools in Mesa?
By Resource Investment Index, Step Up School ranks #7 of 26 elementary schools in Mesa, 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 Mesa on the city page.
Is Step Up School a good school?
Step Up School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. 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 Step Up Schools Inc. (4313)?
None; Step Up Schools Inc. (4313) is a single-school charter district, and Step Up School 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.