Enrollment
1,974
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 080408000562
Fountain-Fort Carson High School — Fountain, CO
Federal NCES profile for Fountain-Fort Carson High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 32
📚 AP courses 75
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 44
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
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)
119.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.1:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.1%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fountain-Fort Carson 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
Fountain-Fort Carson High School reports 1,974 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 119.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% 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 8% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 25.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the Colorado average and 52% below the national baseline. The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 282 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fountain School District No. 8 in the County of El Paso an spends $16,635 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 5.9% from local sources (property taxes), 56.6% from the state, and 37.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), 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 Fountain-Fort Carson 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 | 17.1:1 | ▲ 1% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.1% | ▼ 35% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,974 | top 99% | — | — |
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
25.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% 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
17.1:1
students per teacher
— 1% above state mean
Top 64% in Colorado — lower ratio than 36% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$16,635
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
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 282 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 346 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 9 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,974 Top 99% in Colorado — larger than 1% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 119.0
Students per teacher 17.1:1 +1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 25.1% -35% vs state
NCES ID 080408000562
Student demographics
White 42.2%
Hispanic or Latino 30.7%
African American 11.2%
Two or More 10.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2.3%
Asian 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.3%
Largest group: White at 42.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 15
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 282:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 15
Out-of-school suspensions 346
Expulsions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fountain School District No. 8 in the County of El Paso an, which includes Fountain-Fort Carson High School.
$16,635
Per student
-21%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 5.9%
State 56.6%
Federal 37.4%
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
- 1,051
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 814
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 668
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 657
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 524
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
Similar high schools in Fountain
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Fountain-Fort Carson High School
How many students attend Fountain-Fort Carson High School?
Fountain-Fort Carson High School has 1,974 students enrolled. It is a high school in FOUNTAIN, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fountain-Fort Carson High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fountain-Fort Carson High School is 17.1:1, which is 1% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 8% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fountain-Fort Carson High School?
25.1% of students at Fountain-Fort Carson High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fountain-Fort Carson High School?
The largest demographic group at Fountain-Fort Carson High School is White at 42.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in FOUNTAIN, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fountain-Fort Carson High School?
Fountain-Fort Carson High School has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.