Enrollment
522
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 080480001006
Powderhorn Elementary School — Littleton, CO
Federal NCES profile for Powderhorn Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 42
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: Jefferson County School District No. R-1 · Colorado
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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
20.1%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Powderhorn Elementary School compares with Colorado 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
Powderhorn Elementary School reports 522 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% below the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 20.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% below the Colorado average and 61% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 522 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Jefferson County School District No. R-1 spends $16,228 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 55.3% from local sources (property taxes), 36.9% from the state, and 7.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), calculated from 4 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 Powderhorn Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Colorado state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Colorado | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▼ 7% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 20.1% | ▼ 48% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 522 | top 73% | — | — |
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
20.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 48% in Colorado — lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.4%
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
$16,228
per pupil, district-wide
— below Colorado avg of $20,949
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 522 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 522 Top 73% in Colorado — larger than 27% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 20.1% -48% vs state
NCES ID 080480001006
Student demographics
White 70.5%
Hispanic or Latino 21.6%
Two or More 4.0%
Asian 2.3%
African American 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: White at 70.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 522:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jefferson County School District No. R-1, which includes Powderhorn Elementary School.
$16,228
Per student
-23%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,923
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,875
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,808
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,735
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,710
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
Similar elementary schools in Littleton
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Wilder Elementary School
Standard public school
592 students 19.4:1 students per teacher
Moody Elementary School
Standard public school
475 students 13.7:1 students per teacher
Governor'S Ranch Elementary School
Standard public school
458 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Littleton Academy
Standard public school
455 students 11.4:1 students per teacher
Roxborough Intermediate
Standard public school
430 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Runyon Elementary School
Standard public school
423 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
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 Powderhorn Elementary School
How many students attend Powderhorn Elementary School?
Powderhorn Elementary School has 522 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in LITTLETON, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Powderhorn Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Powderhorn Elementary School is 15.8:1, which is 7% lower than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 1% 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 Powderhorn Elementary School?
20.1% of students at Powderhorn Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Powderhorn Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Powderhorn Elementary School is White at 70.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in LITTLETON, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Powderhorn Elementary School?
Powderhorn Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.