Enrollment
2,926
Indiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 180545000984
Lake Central High School — Saint John, IN
Federal NCES profile for Lake Central High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 19
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 Attendance 22
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: Lake Central School Corporation · Indiana
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)
152.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.2:1
vs 16.1:1 Indiana avg
+25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.4%
vs 49.5% Indiana avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Central High School compares with Indiana 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
Lake Central High School reports 2,926 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 152.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% above the Indiana state mean of 16.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 27% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Indiana average and 63% below the national baseline. The school offers 21 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 366 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lake Central School Corporation spends $13,953 per pupil district-wide, below the Indiana average of $14,559 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.2% from local sources (property taxes), 57.5% from the state, and 6.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), 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 Lake Central High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Indiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Indiana | Indiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.2:1 | ▲ 25% | 16.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.4% | ▼ 61% | 49.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,926 | 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
19.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Indiana average of 49.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.2:1
students per teacher
— 25% above state mean
Top 93% in Indiana — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
31.3%
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
$13,953
per pupil, district-wide
— below Indiana avg of $14,559
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors8.0 FTE
Per 366 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 120 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,926 Top 99% in Indiana — larger than 1% of 1,865 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 152.0
Students per teacher 20.2:1 +25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.4% -61% vs state
NCES ID 180545000984
Student demographics
White 64.1%
Hispanic or Latino 20.8%
African American 8.3%
Two or More 3.6%
Asian 3.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 64.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 21
Counselors (FTE) 8.0
Students per counselor 366:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 120
Expulsions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lake Central School Corporation, which includes Lake Central High School.
$13,953
Per student
-4%
vs Indiana
Avg $14,559
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.2%
State 57.5%
Federal 6.3%
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
- 1,032
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 971
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 814
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 660
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 614
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
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 Lake Central High School
How many students attend Lake Central High School?
Lake Central High School has 2,926 students enrolled. It is a high school in Saint John, IN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Central High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Central High School is 20.2:1, which is 25% higher than the Indiana average of 16.1:1 and 27% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lake Central High School?
19.4% of students at Lake Central High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Indiana average of 49.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Central High School?
The largest demographic group at Lake Central High School is White at 64.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Saint John, IN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Central High School?
Lake Central High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) 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.