Enrollment
543
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Lancaster, KY
Garrard Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Garrard Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 210216001672
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Garrard Middle School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Kentucky schools.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Lancaster · Resource Index
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.6:1
- small classes for Kentucky
- 60.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Garrard Middle School has class sizes smaller than 79% of Kentucky schools. Computed live against every Kentucky school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Garrard Middle School ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Lancaster, KY.
School address
District: Garrard County · Kentucky
NCES ID 210216001672 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.6:1
vs 15.2:1 Kentucky avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.7%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
+3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Garrard Middle School compares with Kentucky and U.S. medians
What stands out at Garrard Middle School
Garrard Middle School is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Lancaster, Kentucky, enrolling 543 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of Kentucky schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 60.7% lands close to the Kentucky typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 543 puts it in the larger third of Kentucky schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,389 scored Kentucky schools.
Against 500 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #301.
Its student body is predominantly White (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 543 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 21.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 135 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 543 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Garrard County also operates Garrard County High School (792 students) and Lancaster Elementary School (462 students) alongside Garrard Middle School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Garrard Middle School compares
Garrard Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Kentucky and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.6:1 | ▼ 17% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.7% | ▲ 3% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 543 | top 32% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.6:1
Leaner classes than 70% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
543
Bigger than 67% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
60.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 3% above the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.6:1
students per teacher
- 17% below state mean
Top 21% in Kentucky - lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,215
per pupil, district-wide
- below Kentucky avg of $13,211
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 543 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
94
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 24.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 87.5%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
Two or More 4.8%
African American 1.7%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 87.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.9, Garrard Middle School is less mixed than the Kentucky school average of 34.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Garrard County, which includes Garrard Middle School.
$12,215
Per student
-8%
vs Kentucky
Avg $13,211
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.3%
State 54.2%
Federal 21.5%
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.
How Garrard Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garrard County High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lancaster Elementary School | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Camp Dick Robinson Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Paint Lick Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Garrard Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 792
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 462
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 446
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 260
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kentucky, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~543 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Garrard Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Garrard Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Garrard County's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Garrard Middle School
How many students attend Garrard Middle School?
Garrard Middle School has 543 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Lancaster, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Garrard Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Garrard Middle School is 12.6:1, which is 17% lower than the Kentucky average of 15.2:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Garrard Middle School?
60.7% of students at Garrard Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Garrard Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Garrard Middle School is White at 87.5% of enrollment, in Lancaster, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Garrard Middle School?
Garrard Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Garrard Middle School rank among public schools in Lancaster?
By Resource Investment Index, Garrard Middle School ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Lancaster, KY. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Lancaster on the city page.
Is Garrard Middle School a good school?
Garrard Middle School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 79% of Kentucky schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Garrard County?
Besides Garrard Middle School, Garrard County also operates Garrard County High School (792 students), Lancaster Elementary School (462 students), and Camp Dick Robinson Elementary School (446 students). See the Garrard County district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.