Other / mixed grade configuration · Ketchikan, AK

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School

Federal NCES profile for Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 39/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 020015000523Charter school
0/100100/10039/100
👥 S:T ratio
53
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
72
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Alaska schools.

#1 of 6
schools in Ketchikan · Resource Index
39
Resource Index · Typical
11.7:1
small classes for Alaska
140
students enrolled

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School has class sizes smaller than 70% of Alaska schools. Computed live against every Alaska school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School ranks #1 of 6 schools in Ketchikan, AK.

Enrollment

140

Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

12.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.7:1

vs 15.2:1 Alaska avg

-23% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School compares with Alaska and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School is a mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Ketchikan, Alaska, enrolling 140 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Alaska schools by student-teacher ratio.

With 140 students, its enrollment sits close to the Alaska median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 495 scored Alaska schools.

Its student body is led by White (54%) and American Indian / Alaska Native (32%) (diversity index 60/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 140 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 61.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District spends $23,355 per pupil, 30% below the Alaska average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 15.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Ketchikan's public schools, it stands alongside Houghtaling Elementary (310 students): Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (11.7:1 vs 9.1:1).

Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District also operates Ketchikan High School (551 students) and Houghtaling Elementary (310 students) alongside Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School.

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 Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School compares

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School on the metrics families compare, against Alaska and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Alaska Alaska avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 11.7:1 ▼ 23% 15.2:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 140 top 56% - -

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

11.7:1
Leaner classes than 78% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
140
Bigger than 14% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
11.7:1
students per teacher - 23% below state mean
Top 30% in Alaska - lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
61.4%
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
$23,355
per pupil, district-wide - below Alaska avg of $33,240
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 140 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.7 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 54.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 32.1%
Asian 5.0%
Two or More 5.0%
Hispanic or Latino 2.1%
African American 1.4%

Largest group: White at 54.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 59.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 59.6, Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School is more mixed than the Alaska school average of 43.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District, which includes Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School.

$23,355
Per student
-30%
vs Alaska
Avg $33,240
+41%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.5%
State 63.2%
Federal 15.3%

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 Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Ketchikan High School Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Houghtaling Elementary Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Schoenbar Middle School Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Fawn Mountain Elementary Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Point Higgins School Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Ketchikan

5 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alaska, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School's federal record.

  • Compare Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School against another school. Compare schools
  • Ketchikan Gateway Borough School 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 Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School

How many students attend Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School?

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School has 140 students enrolled. It is a public school in Ketchikan, AK.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School?

The student-teacher ratio at Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School is 11.7:1, which is 23% lower than the Alaska average of 15.2:1 and 25% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School?

The largest demographic group at Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School is White at 54.3% of enrollment, in Ketchikan, AK. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School?

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School rank among schools in Ketchikan?

By Resource Investment Index, Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School ranks #1 of 6 schools in Ketchikan, AK. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Ketchikan on the city page.

Is Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School a good school?

Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School earns 39/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Alaska schools. 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 Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District?

Besides Tongass School of Arts and Sciences Charter School, Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District also operates Ketchikan High School (551 students), Houghtaling Elementary (310 students), and Schoenbar Middle School (252 students). See the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 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, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.