Enrollment
819
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Forked River, NJ
Lacey Township Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Lacey Township Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 340810000242
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 77
📋 Attendance 57
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lacey Township Middle School earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of New Jersey schools.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 14.6:1
- large classes for New Jersey
- 21.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 819
- students enrolled
Lacey Township Middle School has class sizes larger than 89% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lacey Township School District · New Jersey
NCES ID 340810000242 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.6:1
vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg
+24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.6%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lacey Township Middle School compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lacey Township Middle School
Lacey Township Middle School is a large middle school in Forked River, New Jersey, enrolling 819 students.
Class loads run heavy: 14.6:1 is larger than about 89% of New Jersey schools and 24% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 21.6% lands close to the New Jersey typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 819 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.
Against 342 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #192.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 117 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
17.0% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Lacey Township School District also operates Lacey Township High School (1,119 students) and Mill Pond Elementary School (599 students) alongside Lacey Township 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 Lacey Township Middle School compares
Lacey Township Middle School on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.6:1 | ▲ 24% | 11.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.6% | ▼ 27% | 29.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 819 | top 15% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.6:1
Leaner classes than 51% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
819
Bigger than 86% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
21.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 27% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.6:1
students per teacher
- 24% above state mean
Top 89% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
17.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$22,668
per pupil, district-wide
- below New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 117 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
23
in-school suspensions + 40 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.7 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 82.9%
Hispanic or Latino 12.3%
Two or More 2.9%
African American 1.3%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 82.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.7, Lacey Township Middle School is less mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lacey Township School District, which includes Lacey Township Middle School.
$22,668
Per student
-9%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 55.7%
State 37.5%
Federal 6.8%
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.
How Lacey Township Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacey Township High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Mill Pond Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Forked River Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lanoka Harbor Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Cedar Creek Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lacey Township Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,119
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 599
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 479
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 465
- Students per teacher
- 11.3:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 432
- Students per teacher
- 9.8:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~819 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lacey Township Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Lacey Township Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Lacey Township School District'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 Lacey Township Middle School
How many students attend Lacey Township Middle School?
Lacey Township Middle School has 819 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Forked River, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lacey Township Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lacey Township Middle School is 14.6:1, which is 24% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 7% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lacey Township Middle School?
21.6% of students at Lacey Township Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lacey Township Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Lacey Township Middle School is White at 82.9% of enrollment, in Forked River, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lacey Township Middle School?
Lacey Township Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (higher 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).
Is Lacey Township Middle School a good school?
Lacey Township Middle School earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 89% of New Jersey 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 Lacey Township School District?
Besides Lacey Township Middle School, Lacey Township School District also operates Lacey Township High School (1,119 students), Mill Pond Elementary School (599 students), and Forked River Elementary School (479 students). See the Lacey Township School District 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.