NCES CCD 2024-25 42 schools CA

Best-Resourced Schools in Whittier, CA

Compiled from official source data by .

42 public K-12 schools in Whittier from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
42
Schools
25,230
Students
27.7/100
Avg Resource Index
22.4:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Large, fragmented school market

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Whittier has more public-school enrollment than 95% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Whittier is among the largest city school systems in this directory by enrollment, but its campuses are divided among 6 districts. That combination matters: citywide averages blend separate budgets, staffing policies, attendance boundaries, and program rules. For a family comparing schools here, the district column is as important as the city average; two nearby campuses may answer to different boards and draw on different F-33 funding pools.

The school portfolio is elementary-weighted

29 of Whittier's 42 listed schools are elementary campuses. That composition means citywide enrollment and staffing averages are influenced more by early-grade operating patterns than by the city's 7 middle and 6 high-school records. Families comparing later grades should rely on those individual rows rather than the all-school mean.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 41-point gap between Frontier High (Continuation) and Longfellow Elementary shows the range hidden by Whittier's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 5%
School count
Top 5%
Resource Index average
8th percentile
Teacher staffing
7th percentile

Whittier school enrollment varies 35× across entities

Whittier school enrollment ranges from 67 students (lowest) to 2,372 students (highest), a spread of 2,305 students. That ratio is among the widest observed and reflects extreme heterogeneity inside a single city, with small specialty programs listed alongside large comprehensive campuses. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Whittier reports 55.1% free-lunch eligibility

The reported share clears the 50% majority mark. Title I operates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015), but its statutory allocation uses additional LEA-level counts and rules not represented by this average. This percentage is an economic-need context measure; it does not establish a Title I award, show dollars received, or describe how funds are distributed among campuses.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Whittier operates 6 school districts — among the most fragmented governance structures in the country

Each school district has independent budgeting, hiring, and service delivery authority. The fragmentation reflects historical patterns of inter-municipal boundary lines that pre-date modern city growth, students in different parts of the same city can attend different districts with different per-pupil spending, calendars, and graduation requirements. Per-region variation is largest in fragmented systems because each school district sets its own budget, contracts, and priorities without higher-level coordination above the regulatory floor.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Whittier student-teacher ratio is 22.4:1 — high (typically associated with larger urban scale or staffing constraints that have widened the headcount gap)

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Frontier High (Continuation) 51
2. Granada Middle 42
3. Leffingwell Elementary 41
4. Murphy Ranch Elementary 41
5. Ocean View Elementary 39
6. East Whittier Middle 38
7. Sierra Vista High (Alternative) 38
8. Walter F. Dexter Middle 37
9. Ceres Elementary 35
10. Mulberry Elementary 35
11. Katherine Edwards Middle 34
12. Daniel Phelan Elementary 34
13. Richard L. Graves Middle 33
14. Hillview Middle 32
15. Jordan Elementary 32
16. Orchard Dale Elementary 32
17. Scott Avenue Elementary 31
18. California High 29
19. Mill Elementary 29
20. Rancho-Starbuck Intermediate 28
21. Orange Grove Elementary 28
22. La Serna High 27
23. La Colima Elementary 27
24. Whittier High 26
25. Pioneer High 26
26. Laurel Elementary 26
27. Christian Sorensen Elementary 25
28. Evergreen Elementary 25
29. Lou Henry Hoover Elementary 23
30. Wallen L. Andrews Elementary 22
31. Meadow Green Elementary 22
32. Aeolian Elementary 20
33. Loma Vista Elementary 19
34. Lydia Jackson Elementary 18
35. Ada S. Nelson Elementary 17
36. Carmela Elementary 17
37. Lake Marie Elementary 17
38. West Whittier Elementary 16
39. Howard J. Mckibben Elementary 15
40. Los Altos Elementary 14
41. Whittier Independent Study 11
42. Longfellow Elementary 10

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Whittier

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Meadow Green Elementary 47.8/100
  2. 2 Murphy Ranch Elementary 47.4/100
  3. 3 Rancho-Starbuck Intermediate 46.3/100
  4. 4 Scott Avenue Elementary 41.0/100
  5. 5 Leffingwell Elementary 39.8/100

What do families ask about schools in Whittier?

Which Whittier school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Frontier High (Continuation) has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Whittier schools in this federal-data comparison at 51/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Whittier, CA? ▼

Whittier has 42 public schools with a total enrollment of 25,230 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 22.4:1.

Other Cities in California

Los Angeles
574 schools
San Diego
284 schools
San Jose
234 schools
Sacramento
197 schools
Fresno
180 schools
Bakersfield
146 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in California →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.