Enrollment
1,426
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 080387001594
Sand Creek High School — Colorado Springs, CO
Federal NCES profile for Sand Creek High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 10
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 3
📋 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: El Paso County Colorado School District 49 · 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)
58.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.5:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
+33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.3%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sand Creek High 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
Sand Creek High School reports 1,426 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 58.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 33% 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 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 8% below the Colorado average and 32% below the national baseline. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 483 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 45.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding El Paso County Colorado School District 49 spends $11,710 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.9% from local sources (property taxes), 67.4% from the state, and 8.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), 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 Sand Creek High 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 | 22.5:1 | ▲ 33% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.3% | ▼ 8% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,426 | top 96% | — | — |
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
35.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 8% 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
22.5:1
students per teacher
— 33% above state mean
Top 94% in Colorado — lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
45.2%
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
$11,710
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 483 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
69
in-school suspensions + 76 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,426 Top 96% in Colorado — larger than 4% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 58.0
Students per teacher 22.5:1 +33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.3% -8% vs state
NCES ID 080387001594
Student demographics
White 39.1%
Hispanic or Latino 35.8%
Two or More 13.0%
African American 8.2%
Asian 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 39.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 483:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 45.2%
In-school suspensions 69
Out-of-school suspensions 76
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for El Paso County Colorado School District 49, which includes Sand Creek High School.
$11,710
Per student
-44%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.9%
State 67.4%
Federal 8.8%
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
- 6,693
- Students per teacher
- 31.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,697
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,473
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,172
- Students per teacher
- 23.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,162
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
Similar high schools in Colorado Springs
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Pine Creek High School
Standard public school
1,875 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Doherty High School
Standard public school
1,715 students 22.3:1 students per teacher
Liberty High School
Standard public school
1,526 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Vista Ridge High School
Standard public school
1,473 students 22.7:1 students per teacher
Rampart High School
Standard public school
1,305 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
Mesa Ridge High School
Standard public school
1,304 students 19.8:1 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 Sand Creek High School
How many students attend Sand Creek High School?
Sand Creek High School has 1,426 students enrolled. It is a high school in COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sand Creek High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sand Creek High School is 22.5:1, which is 33% higher than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sand Creek High School?
35.3% of students at Sand Creek High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sand Creek High School?
The largest demographic group at Sand Creek High School is White at 39.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sand Creek High School?
Sand Creek High School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) 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.