Enrollment
843
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 080453001382
Sierra High School — Colorado Springs, CO
Federal NCES profile for Sierra High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 36
📚 AP courses 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
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
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)
57.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
53.3%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
+38% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sierra 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
Sierra High School reports 843 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 57.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% 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 0% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 53.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 38% above the Colorado average and 3% above the national baseline. The school offers 12 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 205 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Harrison School District No. 2 in the County of El Paso an spends $17,595 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.7% from local sources (property taxes), 60.0% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), 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 Sierra 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 | 15.9:1 | ▼ 6% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 53.3% | ▲ 38% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 843 | top 90% | — | — |
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
53.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 38% above the Colorado average of 38.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 6% below state mean
Top 49% in Colorado — lower ratio than 51% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$17,595
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
Counselors4.1 FTE
Per 205 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
114
in-school suspensions + 280 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 46.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 843 Top 90% in Colorado — larger than 10% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 57.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 -6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 53.3% +38% vs state
NCES ID 080453001382
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 56.2%
African American 17.3%
White 15.3%
Two or More 7.0%
Asian 2.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 56.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 12
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.1
Students per counselor 205:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 114
Out-of-school suspensions 280
Expulsions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Harrison School District No. 2 in the County of El Paso an, which includes Sierra High School.
$17,595
Per student
-16%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.7%
State 60.0%
Federal 15.3%
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
- 1,089
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 949
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 764
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 595
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Enrollment
- 590
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
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
Sand Creek High School
Standard public school
1,426 students 22.5:1 students per teacher
Rampart High School
Standard public school
1,305 students 16.9:1 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 Sierra High School
How many students attend Sierra High School?
Sierra High School has 843 students enrolled. It is a high school in COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sierra High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sierra High School is 15.9:1, which is 6% lower than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 0% higher 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 Sierra High School?
53.3% of students at Sierra High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sierra High School?
The largest demographic group at Sierra High School is Hispanic or Latino at 56.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in COLORADO SPRINGS, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sierra High School?
Sierra High School has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.