Middle school (grades 6-8) · Hot Springs, AR

Lakeside Junior High School

Federal NCES profile for Lakeside Junior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 050867001730
0/100100/10049/100
👥 S:T ratio
39
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
42
📋 Attendance
46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Lakeside Junior High School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arkansas median.

#4 of 16
public schools in Hot Springs · Resource Index
49
Resource Index · Higher
15.3:1
students per teacher
36.4%
free-lunch eligible

Lakeside Junior High School has class sizes near the Arkansas median. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Lakeside Junior High School ranks #4 of 16 public schools in Hot Springs, AR.

Enrollment

581

Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

38.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.3:1

vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg

+13% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

36.4%

vs 59.2% Arkansas avg

-39% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Lakeside Junior High School compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Lakeside Junior High School

Lakeside Junior High School is a mid-sized middle school in Hot Springs, Arkansas, enrolling 581 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Arkansas schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 36.4% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 581 puts it in the larger third of Arkansas schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.

Against 241 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #50.

Its student body is led by White (70%) and Hispanic or Latino (12%) (diversity index 48/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 291 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 15.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 176 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 581 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Lakeside School District also operates Lakeside High School (1,107 students) and Lakeside Intermediate School (721 students) alongside Lakeside Junior High 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 Lakeside Junior High School compares

Lakeside Junior High School on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Arkansas Arkansas avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 15.3:1 ▲ 13% 13.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 36.4% ▼ 39% 59.2% 51.7%
Enrollment 581 top 22% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15.3:1
Leaner classes than 44% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
581
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
36.4%
free-lunch eligible - 39% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher - 13% above state mean
Top 63% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
21.5%
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
$11,269
per pupil, district-wide - below Arkansas avg of $12,251
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 291 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
102
in-school suspensions + 74 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.3 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 70.4%
Hispanic or Latino 11.7%
Two or More 7.9%
African American 6.7%
Asian 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: White at 70.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 47.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 47.9, Lakeside Junior High School is more mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lakeside School District, which includes Lakeside Junior High School.

$11,269
Per student
-8%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 49.0%
State 35.8%
Federal 15.2%

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 Lakeside Junior High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Lakeside High School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Lakeside Intermediate School Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lakeside Primary School Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lakeside Middle School Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Lakeside Junior High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Lakeside School District · 4 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arkansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Lakeside Junior High School's federal record.

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 Lakeside Junior High School

How many students attend Lakeside Junior High School?

Lakeside Junior High School has 581 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Hot Springs, AR.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Lakeside Junior High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Lakeside Junior High School is 15.3:1, which is 13% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lakeside Junior High School?

36.4% of students at Lakeside Junior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lakeside Junior High School?

The largest demographic group at Lakeside Junior High School is White at 70.4% of enrollment, in Hot Springs, AR.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Lakeside Junior High School?

Lakeside Junior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (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).

How does Lakeside Junior High School rank among public schools in Hot Springs?

By Resource Investment Index, Lakeside Junior High School ranks #4 of 16 public schools in Hot Springs, AR. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Hot Springs on the city page.

Is Lakeside Junior High School a good school?

Lakeside Junior High School earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Arkansas median. 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 Lakeside School District?

Besides Lakeside Junior High School, Lakeside School District also operates Lakeside High School (1,107 students), Lakeside Intermediate School (721 students), and Lakeside Primary School (583 students). See the Lakeside School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

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.