High school (grades 9-12) · Denver, CO

Manual High School

Federal NCES profile for Manual High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 080336006328
0/100100/10028/100
👥 S:T ratio
30
📚 AP courses
10
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
30
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Manual High School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Colorado median.

#40 of 45
high schools in Denver · Resource Index
28
Resource Index · Lower
17.4:1
students per teacher
78.6%
free-lunch eligible

Manual High School has class sizes near the Colorado median. Computed live against every Colorado school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Manual High School ranks #40 of 45 high schools in Denver, CO.

Enrollment

348

Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

20.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.4:1

vs 16.6:1 Colorado avg

+5% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

78.6%

vs 38.5% Colorado avg

+104% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Manual High School compares with Colorado 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 Manual High School

Manual High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Denver, Colorado, enrolling 348 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 17.4:1 puts it in the larger third of Colorado schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 78.6% of students qualify for free meals, 104% above the Colorado average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 348 students, its enrollment sits close to the Colorado median campus size.

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

Among 167 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Colorado schools statewide, it ranks #138, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (53%) and African American (35%) (diversity index 59/100).

No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 348 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 71.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of C also operates East High School (2,476 students) and Northfield High School (2,137 students) alongside Manual 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 Manual High School compares

Manual High 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 17.4:1 ▲ 5% 16.6:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 78.6% ▲ 104% 38.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 348 top 52% - -

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

17.4:1
Leaner classes than 28% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
348
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
78.6%
free-lunch eligible - 104% above the Colorado average of 38.5%
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.
Staffing depth
17.4:1
students per teacher - 5% above state mean
Top 67% in Colorado - lower ratio than 33% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
71.8%
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
$15,336
per pupil, district-wide - below Colorado avg of $16,273
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 348 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 29 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.3 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

Hispanic or Latino 52.9%
African American 34.8%
Two or More 5.7%
White 5.2%
Asian 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 52.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 59.3/100

Simpson diversity index - at 59.3, Manual High School is more mixed than the Colorado school average of 47.1.

Programs

AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of C, which includes Manual High School.

$15,336
Per student
-6%
vs Colorado
Avg $16,273
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 70.4%
State 16.8%
Federal 12.8%

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 Manual High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
East High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Northfield High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
South High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
North High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Thomas Jefferson High School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

School District No. 1 In The County Of Denver And State Of C · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high 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 Manual 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 Manual High School

How many students attend Manual High School?

Manual High School has 348 students enrolled. It is a high school in Denver, CO.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Manual High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Manual High School is 17.4:1, which is 5% higher than the Colorado average of 16.6:1 and 11% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Manual High School?

78.6% of students at Manual High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Manual High School?

The largest demographic group at Manual High School is Hispanic or Latino at 52.9% of enrollment, in Denver, CO. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.3/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Manual High School?

Manual High School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Manual High School rank among high schools in Denver?

By Resource Investment Index, Manual High School ranks #40 of 45 high schools in Denver, CO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Denver on the city page.

Is Manual High School a good school?

Manual High School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Colorado 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 School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of C?

Besides Manual High School, School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of C also operates East High School (2,476 students), Northfield High School (2,137 students), and South High School (1,950 students). See the School District No. 1 in the County of Denver and State of C 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.