Enrollment
525
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 080537006397
Centennial Elementary — Firestone, CO
Federal NCES profile for Centennial Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 53
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: St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1j · Colorado
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)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.1:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.6%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Centennial Elementary compares with Colorado 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
Centennial Elementary reports 525 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, 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: 25.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 34% below the Colorado average and 51% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 525 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1j spends $14,058 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.1% from local sources (property taxes), 36.7% from the state, and 9.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), 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 Centennial Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Colorado state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Colorado | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.1:1 | ▼ 5% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.6% | ▼ 34% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 525 | top 74% | — | — |
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
25.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 34% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.1:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 52% in Colorado — lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,058
per pupil, district-wide
— below Colorado avg of $20,949
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 525 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 525 Top 74% in Colorado — larger than 26% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 16.1:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 25.6% -34% vs state
NCES ID 080537006397
Student demographics
White 60.6%
Hispanic or Latino 29.0%
Two or More 5.3%
Asian 3.6%
African American 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: White at 60.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 525:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.9%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1j, which includes Centennial Elementary.
$14,058
Per student
-33%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.1%
State 36.7%
Federal 9.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,727
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,509
- Students per teacher
- 24.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,491
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,268
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 1,211
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
Similar other schools in Firestone
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Centennial Elementary
How many students attend Centennial Elementary?
Centennial Elementary has 525 students enrolled. It is a other school in FIRESTONE, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Centennial Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Centennial Elementary is 16.1:1, which is 5% lower than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 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 Centennial Elementary?
25.6% of students at Centennial Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Centennial Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Centennial Elementary is White at 60.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in FIRESTONE, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Centennial Elementary?
Centennial Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) 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.