Atwater Elementary
Public school district · Merced County · California · NCES district ID 0603420
Atwater Elementary spent $15,365 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23, below the middle: 72% of the other California districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 spent more (median $16,855). Its 10 schools enrolled 4,430 students in 2024-25; 78.5% of its revenue came from the state. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $17,987 per student, up 17.0% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).
NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 · Census Bureau school finances 2023-24 · NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · method
Spending per student among California districts of similar size
Current spending per student excludes construction and debt. The 9 districts closest to Atwater Elementary in enrollment (4,837 to 5,047 students) and Atwater Elementary itself.
Where the money came from
$111,454,000 in revenue: 78.5% state, 8.6% local and 12.8% federal. Total spending including $28,511,000 of capital outlay was $107,806,000, or $21,867 per student; the figure above leaves capital out.
- State$87,505,000 79%
- Local$9,631,000 9%
- Federal$14,318,000 13%
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23: current expenditures for elementary and secondary education divided by fall membership; the state median covers 646 districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022. Revenue by source (TOTALREV, TFEDREV, TSTREV, TLOCREV).
Enrollment fell from 2022-23 to 2024-25
4,929 students in 2022-23, 4,539 students in 2023-24, 4,430 students in 2024-25, counted across the schools that reported each year.
Teachers and students per teacher
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 4,929 | 215.5 | 22.9 |
| 2023-24 | 4,539 | 194.0 | 23.4 |
| 2024-25 | 4,430 | 195.1 | 22.7 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; sums over the schools reporting each year.
$23,313,000 in teacher salaries in fiscal year 2022-23, $4,729 per student
Atwater Elementary booked $23,313,000 of teacher salaries in its 2022-23 finance report and counted 216 full-time teachers in its Common Core of Data district staff file for 2022-23 (the school files behind the staffing figures on this page count teachers separately, so the two can differ), or $108,161 of salary spending per teacher. That is more than 65 in 100 California districts with a figure (state median $99,744, 1,149 districts). It is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, so the result can differ widely from the average salary the district publishes (its salary schedule gives pay); benefits are left out, and states book salaries differently, so compare districts within one state. For pay, the National Education Association put the average California teacher salary at $87,275 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).
| Program | Teacher salaries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Regular programs | $21,016,000 | 90.1% |
| Special education | $2,185,000 | 9.4% |
| Other programs | $112,000 | 0.5% |
Teacher salaries per student, fiscal years 2018-19 to 2022-23
The district's teacher salary bill divided by its fall enrollment each year: $3,785 in 2018-19, $3,931 in 2019-20, $4,336 in 2020-21, $4,747 in 2021-22, $4,729 in 2022-23.
Source: NCES F-33 school district finance survey, fiscal years 2019 to 2023: teacher salaries in regular, special, vocational and other programs (Z35 to Z38) and fall membership (V33); NCES Common Core of Data LEA staff file 2022-23, teachers (full-time equivalent).
State test results, 2021-22
In 2021-22, the students tested in Atwater Elementary scored proficient or above: 44% in reading and 31% in math, against 45% in reading and 34% in math across California. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within California, not across states. Where a state published results by grade only, the grades tested are combined, weighted by the students tested in each.
| Subject | This district | California | Students tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts | 44% | 45% | 3,241 |
| Math | 31% | 34% | 3,253 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22, all students, from ED Data Express (the Data Rescue Project archive; ED has no 2022-23 result for this district): ED shows district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
7 elementary schools, 3,503 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peggy Heller Elementary | 712 | 23.7 | 55.3% | Not reported |
| Bellevue Elementary | 599 | 24.0 | 87.1% | Not reported |
| Mitchell Elementary | 528 | 24.0 | 75.6% | Not reported |
| Elmer Wood Elementary | 514 | 23.4 | 68.1% | Not reported |
| Shaffer Elementary | 405 | 22.3 | 71.4% | Not reported |
| Thomas Olaeta Elementary | 374 | 22.0 | 65.0% | Not reported |
| Aileen Colburn Elementary | 371 | 21.8 | 85.4% | Not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
3 middle schools, 927 students
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch | Title I, 2021‑22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Intermediate | 744 | 23.8 | 64.5% | Not reported |
| Bellevue Senior Elementary | 178 | 15.3 | 89.3% | Not reported |
| Atwater Senior Academy | 5 | 4.9 | not reported | Not reported |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25; Title I status CCD 2021-22, the last year NCES published it. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count; not reported: the school sent NCES no meal count.
Contact Atwater Elementary
- Website: aesd.edu
- Phone: (209) 357-6100
- Office: 1401 Broadway Ave., Atwater, CA 95301
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, local education agency directory 2024-25. Enrollment, boundaries and school assignment are the district's to confirm.
What to look at next about Atwater Elementary
- California districts by spending per studentAtwater Elementary ranks 463 of 646 California districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 on current spending per student in fiscal year 2022-23 ($15,365).#463 of 646
- Every school district in CaliforniaAtwater Elementary is the number 276 by size of 1,991 California districts, with 4,930 students in fall 2022 (F-33).#276 of 1,991
- Mountain View School DistrictThe next larger California district: 4,944 students in fall 2022, $23,155 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$23,155
- Petaluma Joint Union HighThe next smaller California district: 4,926 students in fall 2022.
- Compare Atwater Elementary with Mountain View School DistrictEnrollment, spending, revenue sources and schools, side by side.
- Teacher salary spending across CaliforniaAtwater Elementary spent $108,161 in salaries per full-time teacher in fiscal year 2022-23 (state median $99,744); spending, not a salary.$108,161
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student and fall 2022 membership; ranks among the state's districts that reported them); NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools).
Questions about Atwater Elementary
How many schools and students are in Atwater Elementary?
10 schools were open in 2024-25 (7 elementary, 3 middle), enrolling 4,430 students, according to the NCES Common Core of Data.How much does Atwater Elementary spend per student?
$15,365 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), which leaves out construction and debt; the California median for districts with at least 1,000 students in fall 2022 is $16,855 and the U.S. figure is $16,260. Census Bureau figures for 2023-24 put it at $17,987 per student, up 17.0% on the year before (U.S. $17,619 that year).Where does Atwater Elementary's money come from?
$111,454,000 in revenue in fiscal year 2022-23: 78.5% state, 8.6% local and 12.8% federal (NCES F-33).How many children in Atwater Elementary live in poverty?
The Census Bureau estimates that 1,221 of the 5,297 children aged 5 to 17 living within the district's boundaries in 2024, 23.1%, were in families in poverty (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It is a model-based estimate for everyone living in the district, not a count of its students; the free-meal shares in the school tables are counts of enrolled students.How much does Atwater Elementary spend on teacher salaries?
$23,313,000 in fiscal year 2022-23 (NCES F-33), or $4,729 per student. Divided by the 216 full-time teachers in the NCES Common Core of Data for 2022-23 that is $108,161 per teacher, more than 65 in 100 California districts (state median $99,744). That is spending, not what a teacher is paid: the salary lines and the teacher count come from different files, and the result can differ widely from the average salary a district publishes. The district's salary schedule gives pay. For pay, the National Education Association put the average California teacher salary at $87,275 in 2021-22 (NCES Digest table 211.60).How do students in Atwater Elementary do on state tests?
In 2021-22, the students tested in Atwater Elementary scored proficient or above: 44% in reading and 31% in math, against 45% in reading and 34% in math across California. California's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22.What is Atwater Elementary's NCES district ID?
0603420. Each of its schools' 12-digit NCES IDs begins with these seven digits.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22: reading and math proficiency for the district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 211.60 (2021-22): the state's average teacher salary, from the National Education Association. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024: children aged 5 to 17 and those in families in poverty, by school district. census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2023-24: per pupil current spending for 2023-24 and 2022-23. census.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances Per pupil current spending by school system · FY 2023-24
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey Revenue and expenditures by district · FY 2022-23
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25