Enrollment
558
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 080345006219
Cresthill Middle School — Highlands Ranch, CO
Federal NCES profile for Cresthill Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 57/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 64
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)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
11.8%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cresthill Middle 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
Cresthill Middle School reports 558 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16:1 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: 11.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the Colorado average and 77% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 181 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation 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 57/100 (C), 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 Cresthill Middle 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 | 16:1 | ▼ 5% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 11.8% | ▼ 69% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 558 | top 77% | — | — |
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
11.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% 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
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 51% in Colorado — lower ratio than 49% 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
Counselors3.1 FTE
Per 181 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 74 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 558 Top 77% in Colorado — larger than 23% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 16:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 11.8% -69% vs state
NCES ID 080345006219
Student demographics
White 63.8%
Hispanic or Latino 21.0%
Two or More 6.5%
Asian 6.1%
African American 2.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 63.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.1
Students per counselor 181:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 31
Out-of-school suspensions 74
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Douglas County School District No. Re 1, which includes Cresthill Middle 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 middle schools in Highlands Ranch
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Cresthill Middle School
How many students attend Cresthill Middle School?
Cresthill Middle School has 558 students enrolled. It is a middle school in HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cresthill Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cresthill Middle School is 16:1, 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 Cresthill Middle School?
11.8% of students at Cresthill Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cresthill Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Cresthill Middle School is White at 63.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cresthill Middle School?
Cresthill Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C) 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.