UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER

UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER is a secondary school of cozy scale in KANSAS CITY, Missouri, operated by UNIVERSITY ACADEMY, caters to 237 students in grades 9 through 12. By comparison, Missouri's public schools average about 501 students each, so UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER sits 53% leaner than that benchmark.

Across the 3 schools in UNIVERSITY ACADEMY (1,111 students total), UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Demographically, UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER logs that nearly all students (94%) are Black. Other groups include 3% White, 2% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 22% Black, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Black than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER has 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 12.2:1 average. Roughly 100% of students at UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is higher than Jackson County's rate of about 60%.

After controlling for student poverty, UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 49.4%; this one delivers 58.5%.

Across the wider county, Jackson County reports that median household income runs about $68,577, about 34% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across Jackson County's 244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 105,714 students), UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-MIDDLE, around 0.0 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 55.9%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting. UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Five-year trend. UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER's enrollment has changed only slightly since 2018, when it stood at 237 (now 237). Class-load math has tightened: from 14.6:1 in 2018 to 13.2:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for UNIVERSITY ACADEMY-UPPER typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.