High school (grades 9-12) · Highlands Ranch, CO

Thunderridge High School

Federal NCES profile for Thunderridge High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 080345001529
0/100100/10058/100
👥 S:T ratio
20
📚 AP courses
85
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
56
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Thunderridge High School earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of Colorado schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Colorado.

#3 of 4
high schools in Highlands Ranch · Resource Index
58
Resource Index · Higher
20:1
large classes for Colorado
1,820
students enrolled

Thunderridge High School has class sizes larger than 85% of Colorado schools. Computed live against every Colorado school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Thunderridge High School ranks #3 of 4 high schools in Highlands Ranch, CO.

Enrollment

1,820

Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

91.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20:1

vs 16.6:1 Colorado avg

+20% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Thunderridge High School compares with Colorado and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Thunderridge High School

Thunderridge High School is a large high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, enrolling 1,820 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 20:1 puts it in the larger third of Colorado schools by student-teacher ratio.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Colorado, bigger than 98% of state schools at 1,820 students.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,922 scored Colorado schools.

Its student body is led by White (75%) and Hispanic or Latino (15%) (diversity index 41/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 17 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 221 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

The surrounding Douglas County School District No. Re 1 spends $11,848 per pupil, 27% below the Colorado average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.

Douglas County School District No. Re 1 also operates American Academy (2,803 students) and Rock Canyon High School (2,325 students) alongside Thunderridge High 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 Thunderridge High School compares

Thunderridge High 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 20:1 ▲ 20% 16.6:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 1,820 top 2% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

20:1
Leaner classes than 16% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,820
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
20:1
students per teacher - 20% above state mean
Top 85% in Colorado - lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$11,848
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
Counselors8.2 FTE
Per 221 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
40
in-school suspensions + 34 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.

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 75.2%
Hispanic or Latino 14.5%
Two or More 5.5%
Asian 3.2%
African American 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: White at 75.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 40.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 40.9, Thunderridge High School is less mixed than the Colorado school average of 47.1.

Programs

AP courses offered 17
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Douglas County School District No. Re 1, which includes Thunderridge High School.

$11,848
Per student
-27%
vs Colorado
Avg $16,273
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 52.8%
State 40.8%
Federal 6.4%

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 Thunderridge High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
American Academy Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Rock Canyon High School Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Legend High School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Mountain Vista High School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Chaparral High School Similar size No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Thunderridge High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Douglas County School District No. Re 1 · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Thunderridge High School's federal record.

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 Thunderridge High School

How many students attend Thunderridge High School?

Thunderridge High School has 1,820 students enrolled. It is a high school in Highlands Ranch, CO.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Thunderridge High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Thunderridge High School is 20:1, which is 20% higher than the Colorado average of 16.6:1 and 27% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thunderridge High School?

The largest demographic group at Thunderridge High School is White at 75.2% of enrollment, in Highlands Ranch, CO.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Thunderridge High School?

Thunderridge High School has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Thunderridge High School rank among high schools in Highlands Ranch?

By Resource Investment Index, Thunderridge High School ranks #3 of 4 high schools in Highlands Ranch, CO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Highlands Ranch on the city page.

Is Thunderridge High School a good school?

Thunderridge High School earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of Colorado schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Colorado. 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 Douglas County School District No. Re 1?

Besides Thunderridge High School, Douglas County School District No. Re 1 also operates American Academy (2,803 students), Rock Canyon High School (2,325 students), and Legend High School (2,206 students). See the Douglas County School District No. Re 1 district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.