Enrollment
416
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Saint Paul, MN
Urban Academy
Federal NCES profile for Urban Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 270035304173Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 38
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 17
📋 Attendance 94
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Urban Academy earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median.
- #34 of 86
- schools in Saint Paul · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.4:1
- students per teacher
- 96.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Urban Academy has class sizes near the Minnesota median. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Urban Academy ranks #34 of 86 schools in Saint Paul, MN.
School address
District: Urban Academy · Minnesota
NCES ID 270035304173 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.4:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
96.9%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+126% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Urban Academy compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Urban Academy
Urban Academy is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, enrolling 416 students.
At 15.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Minnesota median, within a few percentage points of the 15.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 96.9% of students qualify for free meals, 126% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 416 puts it in the larger third of Minnesota schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 34 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #5.
Its student body is predominantly Asian (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 416 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 2.6% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 23.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Urban Academy is a single-school charter district, so Urban Academy 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 Urban Academy compares
Urban Academy on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.4:1 | ▼ 3% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.9% | ▲ 126% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 416 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.4:1
Leaner classes than 43% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
416
Bigger than 50% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
96.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 126% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
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.
Staffing depth
15.4:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 58% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 42% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
2.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$12,932
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 416 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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
Asian 86.1%
African American 10.1%
Hispanic or Latino 1.2%
Two or More 1.2%
White 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: Asian at 86.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 24.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 24.8, Urban Academy is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Urban Academy, which includes Urban Academy.
$12,932
Per student
-15%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 0.1%
State 76.1%
Federal 23.8%
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 statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~416 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Urban Academy's federal record.
- Compare Urban Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Urban Academy'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 Urban Academy
How many students attend Urban Academy?
Urban Academy has 416 students enrolled. It is a public school in Saint Paul, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Urban Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Urban Academy is 15.4:1, which is 3% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 2% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Urban Academy?
96.9% of students at Urban Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Urban Academy?
The largest demographic group at Urban Academy is Asian at 86.1% of enrollment, in Saint Paul, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Urban Academy?
Urban Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Urban Academy rank among schools in Saint Paul?
By Resource Investment Index, Urban Academy ranks #34 of 86 schools in Saint Paul, MN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Saint Paul on the city page.
Is Urban Academy a good school?
Urban Academy earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Minnesota median. 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 Urban Academy?
None; Urban Academy is a single-school charter district, and Urban Academy 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.