Enrollment
551
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 080345001874 Charter school
Challenge to Excellence Charter School — Parker, CO
Federal NCES profile for Challenge to Excellence Charter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 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: Douglas County School District No. Re 1 · 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
18.6:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
4.8%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-88% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Challenge to Excellence Charter School 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
Challenge to Excellence Charter School reports 551 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 17% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 4.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 88% below the Colorado average and 91% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 551 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Douglas County School District No. Re 1 spends $14,103 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.8% from local sources (property taxes), 40.8% from the state, and 6.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Challenge to Excellence Charter School 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 | 18.6:1 | ▲ 10% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 4.8% | ▼ 88% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 551 | top 76% | — | — |
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
4.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 88% 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
18.6:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 79% in Colorado — lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$14,103
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 551 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 551 Top 76% in Colorado — larger than 24% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 18.6:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 4.8% -88% vs state
NCES ID 080345001874
Student demographics
Asian 60.1%
White 25.4%
Hispanic or Latino 7.6%
Two or More 3.3%
African American 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: Asian at 60.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 551:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Douglas County School District No. Re 1, which includes Challenge to Excellence Charter School.
$14,103
Per student
-33%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.8%
State 40.8%
Federal 6.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,803
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,325
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,206
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,169
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,007
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
Similar elementary schools in Parker
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Leman Classical Academy
Standard public school
1,390 students 20.5:1 students per teacher
Parker Core Knowledge Charter School
Standard public school
705 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
North Star Academy
Standard public school
684 students 19.5:1 students per teacher
Prairie Crossing Elementary School
Standard public school
612 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
Global Village Academy - Douglas County
Standard public school
450 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Singing Hills Elementary School
Standard public school
383 students 16.7:1 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 Challenge to Excellence Charter School
How many students attend Challenge to Excellence Charter School?
Challenge to Excellence Charter School has 551 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in PARKER, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Challenge to Excellence Charter School?
The student-teacher ratio at Challenge to Excellence Charter School is 18.6:1, which is 10% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 17% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Challenge to Excellence Charter School?
4.8% of students at Challenge to Excellence Charter School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Challenge to Excellence Charter School?
The largest demographic group at Challenge to Excellence Charter School is Asian at 60.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in PARKER, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Challenge to Excellence Charter School?
Challenge to Excellence Charter School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.