Enrollment
1,277
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 080480001543
Dakota Ridge Senior High School — Littleton, CO
Federal NCES profile for Dakota Ridge Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 24
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 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: Jefferson County School District No. R-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)
70.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.1:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.6%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-59% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dakota Ridge Senior High 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
Dakota Ridge Senior High School reports 1,277 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 70.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 20% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 15.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 59% below the Colorado average and 70% below the national baseline. The school offers 10 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 319 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 43.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Jefferson County School District No. R-1 spends $16,228 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 55.3% from local sources (property taxes), 36.9% from the state, and 7.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Dakota Ridge Senior High 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 | 19.1:1 | ▲ 13% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.6% | ▼ 59% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,277 | top 95% | — | — |
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
15.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 59% 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
19.1:1
students per teacher
— 13% above state mean
Top 83% in Colorado — lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,228
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 319 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
36
in-school suspensions + 42 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,277 Top 95% in Colorado — larger than 5% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 70.0
Students per teacher 19.1:1 +13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 15.6% -59% vs state
NCES ID 080480001543
Student demographics
White 69.3%
Hispanic or Latino 19.1%
Two or More 5.6%
Asian 4.9%
African American 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 69.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 10
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 319:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 43.6%
In-school suspensions 36
Out-of-school suspensions 42
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jefferson County School District No. R-1, which includes Dakota Ridge Senior High School.
$16,228
Per student
-23%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 55.3%
State 36.9%
Federal 7.8%
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
- 1,923
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,875
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,808
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,735
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,710
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
Similar high schools in Littleton
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Chatfield High School
Standard public school
1,808 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
Heritage High School
Standard public school
1,748 students 20.9:1 students per teacher
Columbine High School
Standard public school
1,710 students 19.6:1 students per teacher
Littleton High School
Standard public school
1,187 students 17.2:1 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 Dakota Ridge Senior High School
How many students attend Dakota Ridge Senior High School?
Dakota Ridge Senior High School has 1,277 students enrolled. It is a high school in LITTLETON, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dakota Ridge Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Dakota Ridge Senior High School is 19.1:1, which is 13% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 20% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dakota Ridge Senior High School?
15.6% of students at Dakota Ridge Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dakota Ridge Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Dakota Ridge Senior High School is White at 69.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in LITTLETON, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dakota Ridge Senior High School?
Dakota Ridge Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.