Enrollment
378
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Thornton, CO
Prairie Hills Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Prairie Hills Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 080690001945
👥 S:T ratio 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Prairie Hills Elementary School earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Colorado median.
- #1 of 8
- elementary schools in Thornton · Resource Index
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.8:1
- students per teacher
- 15.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Prairie Hills Elementary School has class sizes near the Colorado median. Computed live against every Colorado school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie Hills Elementary School ranks #1 of 8 elementary schools in Thornton, CO.
School address
District: Adams 12 Five Star Schools · Colorado
NCES ID 080690001945 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 16.6:1 Colorado avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.4%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie Hills Elementary School compares with Colorado and U.S. medians
What stands out at Prairie Hills Elementary School
Prairie Hills Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Thornton, Colorado, enrolling 378 students.
At 15.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Colorado median, within a few percentage points of the 16.6:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 15.4% of students eligible for free meals.
With 378 students, its enrollment sits close to the Colorado median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,922 scored Colorado schools.
Against 366 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #79.
Its student body is led by White (57%) and Hispanic or Latino (25%) (diversity index 60/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Adams 12 Five Star Schools also operates Legacy High School (2,052 students) and Horizon High School (1,966 students) alongside Prairie Hills Elementary 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 Prairie Hills Elementary School compares
Prairie Hills Elementary 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 | 15.8:1 | ▼ 5% | 16.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.4% | ▼ 60% | 38.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 378 | top 47% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.8:1
Leaner classes than 40% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
378
Bigger than 44% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
15.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 60% 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
- 5% below state mean
Top 51% in Colorado - lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
21.7%
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
$13,222
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.1 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 56.9%
Hispanic or Latino 25.4%
Asian 10.1%
Two or More 6.6%
African American 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 56.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.7, Prairie Hills Elementary School is more mixed than the Colorado school average of 47.1.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Adams 12 Five Star Schools, which includes Prairie Hills Elementary School.
$13,222
Per student
-19%
vs Colorado
Avg $16,273
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 45.4%
State 44.8%
Federal 9.8%
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 Prairie Hills Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Horizon High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Northglenn High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Mountain Range High School | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Stargate Charter School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Prairie Hills Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,052
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 1,966
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 1,844
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 1,788
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,572
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
Similar elementary 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.
Similar enrollment (~378 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Prairie Hills Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Prairie Hills Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Adams 12 Five Star Schools'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 Prairie Hills Elementary School
How many students attend Prairie Hills Elementary School?
Prairie Hills Elementary School has 378 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Thornton, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Hills Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie Hills Elementary School is 15.8:1, which is 5% lower than the Colorado average of 16.6:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Prairie Hills Elementary School?
15.4% of students at Prairie Hills Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Prairie Hills Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Prairie Hills Elementary School is White at 56.9% of enrollment, in Thornton, CO. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.7/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie Hills Elementary School?
Prairie Hills Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Prairie Hills Elementary School rank among elementary schools in Thornton?
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie Hills Elementary School ranks #1 of 8 elementary schools in Thornton, CO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Thornton on the city page.
Is Prairie Hills Elementary School a good school?
Prairie Hills Elementary School earns 51/100 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 Adams 12 Five Star Schools?
Besides Prairie Hills Elementary School, Adams 12 Five Star Schools also operates Legacy High School (2,052 students), Horizon High School (1,966 students), and Northglenn High School (1,844 students). See the Adams 12 Five Star Schools 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 June 2026.