NCES CCD 2024-25 36 schools KY

Best-Resourced Schools in Bowling Green, KY

36 public K-12 schools in Bowling Green from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

36
Schools
21,659
Students
46.2/100
Avg Resource Index
17.1:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Resource breadth with tighter class loads

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Bowling Green has more public-school enrollment than 93% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Bowling Green's average Resource Investment Index ranks above most listed cities even though its student-teacher ratio is on the more crowded side of the national city distribution. That is a useful mismatch, not a contradiction: counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance can lift the composite while classroom staffing remains comparatively tight. Families should inspect the component scores on each school profile instead of reading the city index as a shorthand for small classes.

Combined-grade campuses shape the local portfolio

18 of Bowling Green's 36 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.

The composite and staffing measures point in different directions

Bowling Green's average Resource Investment Index sits at the 75th percentile, while its teacher-staffing measure sits at the 33rd percentile. The 42-point percentile gap is a reminder that the index is not a class-size score: counselors, gifted-program reporting, and attendance also affect it. Compare those components directly when two schools have similar index totals; the same headline score can arise from a different mix of reported resources.

City enrollment
Top 7%
School count
Top 6%
Resource Index average
75th percentile
Teacher staffing
33rd percentile

Bowling Green school enrollment varies 86× across entities

Bowling Green school enrollment ranges from 18 students (lowest) to 1,548 students (highest), a spread of 1,530 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Bowling Green reports 59.5% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Bowling Green student-teacher ratio is 17.1:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Bowling Green is typically wider than the Bowling Green-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Lighthouse Academy 82
2. Bowling Green Learning Center 76
3. Warren County Day Treatment 68
4. Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Ctr 62
5. Parker-Bennett-Curry School 51
6. Bowling Green High School 50
7. Bowling Green Junior High 49
8. W R Mcneill Elementary School 49
9. Warren Central High School 48
10. Jody Richards Elementary 48
11. Beacon Academy 48
12. William H. Natcher Elementary 47
13. T C Cherry Elementary School 47
14. Dishman Mcginnis Elementary School 46
15. Briarwood Elementary School 45
16. Richardsville Elementary 45
17. Geo International High School 45
18. South Warren High School 44
19. Warren East High School 44
20. Potter Gray Elementary 44
21. South Warren Middle School 43
22. Cumberland Trace Elementary 43
23. Rockfield Elementary 43
24. Plano Elementary 42
25. Jackson Academy 42
26. Greenwood High School 41
27. Rich Pond Elementary 41
28. Lost River Elementary 41
29. Drakes Creek Middle School 41
30. Bristow Elementary 41
31. Warren East Middle School 41
32. Jennings Creek Elementary 40
33. Warren Elementary 39
34. Henry F. Moss Middle School 38
35. Rivendell High School 35
36. Rivendell Elementary 15

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Bowling Green

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Jennings Creek Elementary 77.9/100
  2. 2 Henry F. Moss Middle School 77.6/100
  3. 3 Warren Central High School 75.8/100
  4. 4 Lost River Elementary 75.7/100
  5. 5 Warren Elementary 72.6/100

What do families ask about schools in Bowling Green?

Which Bowling Green school has the highest Resource Investment Index?

Lighthouse Academy has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Bowling Green schools in this federal-data comparison at 82/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Bowling Green, KY?

Bowling Green has 36 public schools with a total enrollment of 21,659 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 17.1:1.

Other Cities in Kentucky

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Kentucky →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.