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Modesto, California - 6 schools
An equity score of 50/100 ranks Empire Union Elementary #757 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $15,755 per pupil, Empire Union Elementary ranks #791 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
2,875
Total Enrollment
6
Schools
$15,755
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Empire Union Elementary operates 6 public schools serving 2,875 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Stanislaus County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $15,755 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 30.3% local, 58.5% state, and 11.2% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 50/100, ranked #757 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 465.7:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 62.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 70.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% White, 5.1% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Christine Sipherd Elementary, with a diversity index of 59.9/100.
Its largest campus is Norman N. Glick Middle, enrolling 602 students (22% of the district's total enrollment).
Norman N. Glick Middle accounts for 20.9% of all Empire Union Elementary student enrollment
That concentration means Empire Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: middle. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Empire Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 67.1% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Empire Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 466:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Empire Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 62.3% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Empire Union Elementary has 6 schools, including 1 middle, 5 elementary. Total enrollment is 2,875 students.
How much does Empire Union Elementary spend per student?
Empire Union Elementary spends $15,755 per student. The district has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #757 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Empire Union Elementary?
Empire Union Elementary students are 70.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% White, 5.1% Asian, 3.5% African American, averaged across 6 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Empire Union Elementary?
Empire Union Elementary has an equity score of 50/100, ranking #757 out of 1517 districts in California.