Enrollment
595
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 490017901476 Charter school
Terra Academy — Vernal, UT
Federal NCES profile for Terra Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 9/100.
👥 Class size 8
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
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: Terra Academy · Utah
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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.1:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.6%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Terra Academy compares with Utah 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
Terra Academy reports 595 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 0% above the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 45% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 16.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% below the Utah average and 68% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 595 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 51.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Terra Academy spends $10,059 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 0.6% from local sources (property taxes), 82.5% from the state, and 16.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 9/100 (F), calculated from 4 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 Terra Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.1:1 | ▼ 0% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.6% | ▼ 41% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 595 | top 60% | — | — |
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
16.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% below the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
23.1:1
students per teacher
— 0% above state mean
Top 63% in Utah — lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
51.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,059
per pupil, district-wide
— below Utah avg of $12,354
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 595 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 595 Top 60% in Utah — larger than 40% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 23.1:1 +0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 16.6% -41% vs state
NCES ID 490017901476
Student demographics
White 92.6%
Hispanic or Latino 4.2%
Two or More 1.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 92.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 595:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 51.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 17
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Terra Academy, which includes Terra Academy.
$10,059
Per student
-19%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-48%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 0.6%
State 82.5%
Federal 16.8%
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 other schools in Vernal
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Terra Academy
How many students attend Terra Academy?
Terra Academy has 595 students enrolled. It is a other school in VERNAL, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Terra Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Terra Academy is 23.1:1, which is 0% higher than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 45% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Terra Academy?
16.6% of students at Terra Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Terra Academy?
The largest demographic group at Terra Academy is White at 92.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in VERNAL, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Terra Academy?
Terra Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 9/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.