Enrollment
546
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 341101004416
Mountain Lakes High School — Mountain Lakes, NJ
Federal NCES profile for Mountain Lakes High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 58/100.
👥 Class size 62
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 82
📋 Attendance 14
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Mountain Lakes Public School District · New Jersey
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.5:1
vs 11.9:1 New Jersey avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
1.2%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-96% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mountain Lakes High School compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Mountain Lakes High School reports 546 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 60.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% below the New Jersey state mean of 11.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 40% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 1.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 96% below the New Jersey average and 98% below the national baseline. The school offers 27 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 91 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 34.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mountain Lakes Public School District spends $38,601 per pupil district-wide, above the New Jersey average of $29,189 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 76.4% from local sources (property taxes), 22.6% from the state, and 1.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Mountain Lakes High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New Jersey state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.5:1 | ▼ 20% | 11.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 1.2% | ▼ 96% | 29.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 546 | top 66% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
1.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 96% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.5:1
students per teacher
— 20% below state mean
Top 19% in New Jersey — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
34.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$38,601
per pupil, district-wide
— above New Jersey avg of $29,189
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 91 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 546 Top 66% in New Jersey — larger than 34% of 2,509 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 60.0
Students per teacher 9.5:1 -20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 1.2% -96% vs state
NCES ID 341101004416
Student demographics
White 71.3%
Asian 13.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.4%
Two or More 3.5%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 71.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 27
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 91:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 34.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mountain Lakes Public School District, which includes Mountain Lakes High School.
$38,601
Per student
+32%
vs New Jersey
Avg $29,189
+98%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 76.4%
State 22.6%
Federal 1.0%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 423
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
- Enrollment
- 263
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Enrollment
- 64
- Students per teacher
- 2.4:1
Similar high schools in Mountain Lakes
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Mountain Lakes High School
How many students attend Mountain Lakes High School?
Mountain Lakes High School has 546 students enrolled. It is a high school in Mountain Lakes, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mountain Lakes High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mountain Lakes High School is 9.5:1, which is 20% lower than the New Jersey average of 11.9:1 and 40% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mountain Lakes High School?
1.2% of students at Mountain Lakes High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mountain Lakes High School?
The largest demographic group at Mountain Lakes High School is White at 71.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mountain Lakes, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mountain Lakes High School?
Mountain Lakes High School has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.