Enrollment
642
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 490015801421 Charter school
Valley Academy — Hurricane, UT
Federal NCES profile for Valley Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 26
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: Valley 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)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.0%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
+25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valley 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
Valley Academy reports 642 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 31% below the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 25% above the Utah average and 32% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 642 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Valley Academy spends $9,384 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 1.3% from local sources (property taxes), 82.8% from the state, and 15.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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 Valley 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 | 16:1 | ▼ 31% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.0% | ▲ 25% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 642 | top 65% | — | — |
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
35.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 25% above the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
— 31% below state mean
Top 12% in Utah — lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.8%
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
$9,384
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 642 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
24
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 642 Top 65% in Utah — larger than 35% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 16:1 -31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.0% +25% vs state
NCES ID 490015801421
Student demographics
White 69.6%
Hispanic or Latino 24.8%
Two or More 3.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: White at 69.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 642:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.8%
In-school suspensions 24
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Valley Academy, which includes Valley Academy.
$9,384
Per student
-24%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-52%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 1.3%
State 82.8%
Federal 15.9%
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.
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 Valley Academy
How many students attend Valley Academy?
Valley Academy has 642 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in HURRICANE, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valley Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Valley Academy is 16:1, which is 31% lower than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 1% 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 Valley Academy?
35.0% of students at Valley Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valley Academy?
The largest demographic group at Valley Academy is White at 69.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in HURRICANE, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valley Academy?
Valley Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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.