Enrollment
1,173
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Cleveland, TN
Lake Forest Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Lake Forest Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 470033000104
👥 S:T ratio 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 41
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lake Forest Middle School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools.
- #3 of 3
- middle schools in Cleveland · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.3:1
- large classes for Tennessee
- 1,173
- students enrolled
Lake Forest Middle School has class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Lake Forest Middle School ranks #3 of 3 middle schools in Cleveland, TN.
School address
District: Bradley County · Tennessee
NCES ID 470033000104 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
72.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Forest Middle School compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lake Forest Middle School
Lake Forest Middle School is a large middle school in Cleveland, Tennessee, enrolling 1,173 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by student-teacher ratio.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Tennessee, bigger than 94% of state schools at 1,173 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 587 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 25.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 245 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 1,173 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 9 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Cleveland's middle schools, it stands alongside Cleveland Middle (1,291 students): Lake Forest Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.3:1 vs 14.8:1).
Bradley County also operates Bradley Central High School (1,649 students) and Walker Valley High School (1,450 students) alongside Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest Middle School compares
Lake Forest Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▲ 7% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 1,173 | top 6% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,173
Bigger than 94% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
- 7% above state mean
Top 70% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.8%
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
$9,558
per pupil, district-wide
- below Tennessee avg of $10,822
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 587 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
157
in-school suspensions + 88 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 9 expulsions.
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 80.6%
Hispanic or Latino 13.3%
Two or More 3.6%
African American 1.9%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 80.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.1, Lake Forest Middle School is less mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bradley County, which includes Lake Forest Middle School.
$9,558
Per student
-12%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-42%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 28.9%
State 46.1%
Federal 25.0%
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 Lake Forest Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Central High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Walker Valley High School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ocoee Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Waterville Community Elementary School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Black Fox Elementary School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lake Forest Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,649
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 1,450
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 1,096
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 677
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 493
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar middle schools in Cleveland
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,173 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lake Forest Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Lake Forest Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Bradley 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 Lake Forest Middle School
How many students attend Lake Forest Middle School?
Lake Forest Middle School has 1,173 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Cleveland, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Forest Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Forest Middle School is 16.3:1, which is 7% higher than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Forest Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Lake Forest Middle School is White at 80.6% of enrollment, in Cleveland, TN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Forest Middle School?
Lake Forest Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Lake Forest Middle School rank among middle schools in Cleveland?
By Resource Investment Index, Lake Forest Middle School ranks #3 of 3 middle schools in Cleveland, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Cleveland on the city page.
Is Lake Forest Middle School a good school?
Lake Forest Middle School earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee 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 Bradley County?
Besides Lake Forest Middle School, Bradley County also operates Bradley Central High School (1,649 students), Walker Valley High School (1,450 students), and Ocoee Middle School (1,096 students). See the Bradley 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.