Enrollment
568
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 080399001091
Preston Middle School — Fort Collins, CO
Federal NCES profile for Preston Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 0
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: Poudre School District 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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.6:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.1%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Preston Middle 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
Preston Middle School reports 568 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% above the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 11% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 14.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 63% below the Colorado average and 73% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 142 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 45.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Poudre School District R-1 spends $17,617 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 57.5% from local sources (property taxes), 35.4% from the state, and 7.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), 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 Preston Middle 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 | 17.6:1 | ▲ 4% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.1% | ▼ 63% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 568 | top 78% | — | — |
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
14.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 63% 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
17.6:1
students per teacher
— 4% above state mean
Top 70% in Colorado — lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
45.1%
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
$17,617
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 142 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
17
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 568 Top 78% in Colorado — larger than 22% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 17.6:1 +4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 14.1% -63% vs state
NCES ID 080399001091
Student demographics
White 73.8%
Hispanic or Latino 16.5%
Asian 3.9%
Two or More 3.5%
African American 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 73.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 142:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 45.1%
In-school suspensions 17
Out-of-school suspensions 13
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poudre School District R-1, which includes Preston Middle School.
$17,617
Per student
-16%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 57.5%
State 35.4%
Federal 7.1%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,044
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,846
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,836
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,516
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,456
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
Similar middle schools in Fort Collins
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Lesher Middle School
Standard public school
766 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School
Standard public school
762 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Webber Middle School
Standard public school
728 students 17.4:1 students per teacher
Lincoln Middle School
Standard public school
552 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
Boltz Middle School
Standard public school
551 students 15.3:1 students per teacher
Blevins Middle School
Standard public school
363 students 16.3:1 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 Preston Middle School
How many students attend Preston Middle School?
Preston Middle School has 568 students enrolled. It is a middle school in FORT COLLINS, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Preston Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Preston Middle School is 17.6:1, which is 4% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 11% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Preston Middle School?
14.1% of students at Preston Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Preston Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Preston Middle School is White at 73.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in FORT COLLINS, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Preston Middle School?
Preston Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) 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.