Enrollment
571
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Chugiak, AK
Mirror Lake Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Mirror Lake Middle 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 020018000229
👥 S:T ratio 18
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 9
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mirror Lake Middle School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 90% of Alaska schools.
- #2 of 3
- public schools in Chugiak · Resource Index
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 20.4:1
- large classes for Alaska
- 16.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Mirror Lake Middle School has class sizes larger than 90% of Alaska schools. Computed live against every Alaska school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Mirror Lake Middle School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Chugiak, AK.
School address
District: Anchorage School District · Alaska
NCES ID 020018000229 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.4:1
vs 15.2:1 Alaska avg
+34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.7%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mirror Lake Middle School compares with Alaska and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mirror Lake Middle School
Large campus carrying a heavier staffing load
Mirror Lake Middle School is larger than most Alaska schools and also reports more students per teacher than the state norm. Those facts reinforce one another: this is not merely a small specialist campus whose ratio is distorted by a tiny denominator. The operational constraint is scale paired with tighter staffing. Families comparing programs should inspect whether counselors, gifted access, and other support indicators compensate for that teacher-staffing load.
Need and resources require a component-level read
Mirror Lake Middle School falls within the wide middle of the Alaska distribution on both free-meal eligibility and the Resource Investment Index. Neither measure supplies an honest headline by itself. The useful distinctions are in the components: classroom staffing, counselor availability, attendance, gifted-program access, and district spending. Those fields can pull in opposite directions even when the overall percentile looks ordinary.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Mirror Lake Middle School's 36.4% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Mirror Lake Middle School is a lower-poverty, large middle school in Chugiak, Alaska, enrolling 571 students.
Class loads run heavy: 20.4:1 is larger than about 90% of Alaska schools and 34% above the 15.2:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 16.7% free-meal eligibility runs 73% below the Alaska average.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Alaska, bigger than 92% of state schools at 571 students.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 495 scored Alaska schools.
Against 46 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #22.
Its student body is led by White (66%) and Two or More (15%) (diversity index 53/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 286 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 36.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Anchorage School District spends $17,200 per pupil, 48% below the Alaska average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 18.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Anchorage School District also operates West High School (1,702 students) and Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School (1,636 students) alongside Mirror Lake 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 Mirror Lake Middle School compares
Mirror Lake Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Alaska and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.4:1 | ▲ 34% | 15.2:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.7% | ▼ 73% | 61.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 571 | top 8% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
20.4:1
Leaner classes than 15% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
571
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
16.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 73% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
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
20.4:1
students per teacher
- 34% above state mean
Top 90% in Alaska - lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
36.4%
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
$17,200
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alaska avg of $33,240
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 286 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
32
in-school suspensions + 44 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 65.8%
Two or More 14.9%
Hispanic or Latino 9.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 5.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.9%
Asian 1.8%
African American 0.9%
Largest group: White at 65.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 53.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 53.3, Mirror Lake Middle School is more mixed than the Alaska school average of 43.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Anchorage School District, which includes Mirror Lake Middle School.
$17,200
Per student
-48%
vs Alaska
Avg $33,240
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.8%
State 54.1%
Federal 18.1%
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 Mirror Lake Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| West High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Service High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bartlett High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Dimond High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Mirror Lake Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,702
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 1,636
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,518
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 1,431
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,373
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alaska, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~571 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~20.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mirror Lake Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Mirror Lake Middle School against another school. Compare schools
- Anchorage School District'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 Mirror Lake Middle School
How many students attend Mirror Lake Middle School?
Mirror Lake Middle School has 571 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Chugiak, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mirror Lake Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mirror Lake Middle School is 20.4:1, which is 34% higher than the Alaska average of 15.2:1 and 30% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mirror Lake Middle School?
16.7% of students at Mirror Lake Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mirror Lake Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Mirror Lake Middle School is White at 65.8% of enrollment, in Chugiak, AK. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 53.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mirror Lake Middle School?
Mirror Lake Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Mirror Lake Middle School rank among public schools in Chugiak?
By Resource Investment Index, Mirror Lake Middle School ranks #2 of 3 public schools in Chugiak, AK. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Chugiak on the city page.
What other schools are in Anchorage School District?
Besides Mirror Lake Middle School, Anchorage School District also operates West High School (1,702 students), Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School (1,636 students), and Service High School (1,518 students). See the Anchorage School District 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 July 2026.