Enrollment
330
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060155112318 Charter school
Urban Discovery Academy Charter — San Diego, CA
Federal NCES profile for Urban Discovery Academy Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 19/100.
👥 Class size 27
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 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: Urban Discovery Academy Charter District · California
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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.2:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Urban Discovery Academy Charter compares with California 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
Urban Discovery Academy Charter reports 330 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 47.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% below the California average and 8% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 51.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Urban Discovery Academy Charter District spends $14,171 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.6% from local sources (property taxes), 35.0% from the state, and 13.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 19/100 (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 Urban Discovery Academy Charter compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.2:1 | ▼ 16% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.9% | ▼ 14% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 330 | top 30% | — | — |
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
47.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.2:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 18% in California — lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
51.2%
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
$14,171
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
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
1
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 330 Top 30% in California — larger than 70% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 18.2:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 47.9% -14% vs state
NCES ID 060155112318
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 57.3%
White 15.8%
African American 14.2%
Two or More 9.7%
Asian 2.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 57.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 51.2%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Urban Discovery Academy Charter District, which includes Urban Discovery Academy Charter.
$14,171
Per student
-21%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.6%
State 35.0%
Federal 13.4%
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 San Diego
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
The O'Farrell Charter
Standard public school
1,862 students 20.2:1 students per teacher
Logan Memorial Educational Campus
Standard public school
1,467 students 20.7:1 students per teacher
Charter School of San Diego
Standard public school
1,375 students 30.8:1 students per teacher
San Diego Scpa
Standard public school
1,297 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
Gompers Preparatory Academy
Standard public school
1,175 students 31.2:1 students per teacher
Launch Virtual Academy
Alternative education program
578 students 18:1 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 Urban Discovery Academy Charter
How many students attend Urban Discovery Academy Charter?
Urban Discovery Academy Charter has 330 students enrolled. It is a other school in San Diego, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Urban Discovery Academy Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Urban Discovery Academy Charter is 18.2:1, which is 16% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 14% 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 Urban Discovery Academy Charter?
47.9% of students at Urban Discovery Academy Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Urban Discovery Academy Charter?
The largest demographic group at Urban Discovery Academy Charter is Hispanic or Latino at 57.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Diego, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Urban Discovery Academy Charter?
Urban Discovery Academy Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 19/100 (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.