Middle school (grades 6-8) · Lakewood, CO

Manning Options School

Federal NCES profile for Manning Options School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 080480001746
0/100100/10035/100
👥 S:T ratio
20
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Manning Options School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Colorado schools.

#5 of 7
middle schools in Lakewood · Resource Index
35
Resource Index · Typical
20.1:1
large classes for Colorado
8.4%
free-lunch eligible

Manning Options School has class sizes larger than 86% of Colorado schools. Computed live against every Colorado school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Manning Options School ranks #5 of 7 middle schools in Lakewood, CO.

Enrollment

685

Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

34.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.1:1

vs 16.6:1 Colorado avg

+21% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

8.4%

vs 38.5% Colorado avg

-78% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Manning Options School compares with Colorado and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 Manning Options School

Manning Options School is a lower-poverty, large middle school in Lakewood, Colorado, enrolling 685 students.

Class loads run heavy: 20.1:1 is larger than about 86% of Colorado schools and 21% above the 16.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 8.4% free-meal eligibility runs 78% below the Colorado average.

Enrollment of 685 puts it in the larger third of Colorado schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,922 scored Colorado schools.

Among 252 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Colorado schools statewide, it ranks #199, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 685 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.1% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Jefferson County School District No. R-1 also operates Arvada West High School (1,923 students) and Ralston Valley Senior High School (1,875 students) alongside Manning Options 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 Manning Options School compares

Manning Options School on the metrics families compare, against Colorado and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Colorado Colorado avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 20.1:1 ▲ 21% 16.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 8.4% ▼ 78% 38.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 685 top 15% - -

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

20.1:1
Leaner classes than 16% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
685
Bigger than 79% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
8.4%
free-lunch eligible - 78% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.1:1
students per teacher - 21% above state mean
Top 86% in Colorado - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
20.1%
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
$13,124
per pupil, district-wide - below Colorado avg of $16,273
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 685 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
33
in-school suspensions + 18 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.4 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 82.8%
Hispanic or Latino 9.6%
Two or More 5.1%
Asian 1.9%
African American 0.6%

Largest group: White at 82.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 30.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 30.2, Manning Options School is less mixed than the Colorado school average of 47.1.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jefferson County School District No. R-1, which includes Manning Options School.

$13,124
Per student
-19%
vs Colorado
Avg $16,273
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 55.3%
State 36.9%
Federal 7.8%

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 Manning Options School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Arvada West High School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Ralston Valley Senior High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Chatfield High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Lakewood High School Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Columbine High School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Jefferson County School District No. R-1 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools statewide

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

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Manning Options 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 Manning Options School

How many students attend Manning Options School?

Manning Options School has 685 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Lakewood, CO.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Manning Options School?

The student-teacher ratio at Manning Options School is 20.1:1, which is 21% higher than the Colorado average of 16.6:1 and 28% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Manning Options School?

8.4% of students at Manning Options School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Manning Options School?

The largest demographic group at Manning Options School is White at 82.8% of enrollment, in Lakewood, CO.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Manning Options School?

Manning Options School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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 Manning Options School rank among middle schools in Lakewood?

By Resource Investment Index, Manning Options School ranks #5 of 7 middle schools in Lakewood, CO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Lakewood on the city page.

Is Manning Options School a good school?

Manning Options School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Colorado 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 Jefferson County School District No. R-1?

Besides Manning Options School, Jefferson County School District No. R-1 also operates Arvada West High School (1,923 students), Ralston Valley Senior High School (1,875 students), and Chatfield High School (1,808 students). See the Jefferson County School District No. R-1 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.

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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.