Enrollment
111
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Topeka, KS
Lawrence Gardner High School
Federal NCES profile for Lawrence Gardner High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 200002402104
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 78
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lawrence Gardner High School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Kansas schools.
- #4 of 21
- schools in Topeka · Resource Index
- 54
- Resource Index · Higher
- 96.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 111
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Lawrence Gardner High School ranks #4 of 21 schools in Topeka, KS.
School address
District: Department of Corrections · Kansas
NCES ID 200002402104 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Free-lunch eligible
96.3%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
+126% vs state
What stands out at Lawrence Gardner High School
Lawrence Gardner High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Topeka, Kansas, enrolling 111 students.
Economic need is high: 96.3% of students qualify for free meals, 126% above the Kansas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 111 puts it in the smaller third of Kansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,346 scored Kansas schools.
Its student body is led by White (43%) and African American (33%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 65/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 111 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Among Topeka's public schools, it stands alongside Jardine Elementary (729 students): Lawrence Gardner High School is smaller than that campus by headcount.
Department of Corrections operates only this one school, so Lawrence Gardner High School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Lawrence Gardner High School compares
Lawrence Gardner High School on the metrics families compare, against Kansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 96.3% | ▲ 126% | 42.7% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 111 | top 83% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
111
Bigger than 11% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
96.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 126% above the Kansas average of 42.7%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 111 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 43.2%
African American 33.3%
Hispanic or Latino 22.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Largest group: White at 43.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 65.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 65.2, Lawrence Gardner High School is more mixed than the Kansas school average of 39.4.
Programs
Similar other schools in Topeka
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Jardine Elementary
Standard public school
729 students 13.5:1 students per teacher
Farley Elementary
Standard public school
596 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Ross Elementary
Standard public school
563 students 13.4:1 students per teacher
Logan Elementary
Standard public school
558 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Wanamaker Elem
Standard public school
475 students 13.2:1 students per teacher
Williams Science and Fine Arts Magnet School
Standard public school
447 students 11.5:1 students per teacher
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Kansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lawrence Gardner High School's federal record.
- Compare Lawrence Gardner High School against another school. Compare schools
- Department of Corrections'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 Lawrence Gardner High School
How many students attend Lawrence Gardner High School?
Lawrence Gardner High School has 111 students enrolled. It is a public school in Topeka, KS.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lawrence Gardner High School?
96.3% of students at Lawrence Gardner High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lawrence Gardner High School?
The largest demographic group at Lawrence Gardner High School is White at 43.2% of enrollment, in Topeka, KS. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lawrence Gardner High School?
Lawrence Gardner High School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Lawrence Gardner High School rank among schools in Topeka?
By Resource Investment Index, Lawrence Gardner High School ranks #4 of 21 schools in Topeka, KS. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Topeka on the city page.
Is Lawrence Gardner High School a good school?
Lawrence Gardner High School earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most Kansas 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 Department of Corrections?
None reported; Department of Corrections operates only Lawrence Gardner High School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.