LAWSON HIGH

LAWSON HIGH is a small high school in LAWSON, Missouri, one of the schools within LAWSON R-XIV. The school serves 362 students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 28% smaller than the state mean of about 501.

Within LAWSON R-XIV, which oversees 3 schools and 1,143 students, LAWSON HIGH is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, LAWSON HIGH shows that 96% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

In terms of school funding signals, The school employs 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.2:1. The state averages around 12.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 21% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Ray County runs at roughly 39%, so the school's eligibility rate is below the surrounding baseline.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), LAWSON HIGH tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 50.9% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 45.4%.

In the broader community, ACS estimates for Ray County put median household income runs about $74,573, roughly 16% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. LAWSON HIGH is one of 12 public schools in Ray County (combined enrollment of about 3,423 students).

LAWSON MIDDLE is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around LAWSON HIGH. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), LAWSON HIGH ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 40.9%.

LAWSON HIGH operates from a low-density location.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 9%: 397 students in 2018 compared to 362 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.3:1 in 2018 to 14.2:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.