Enrollment
652
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063753006339
Alta Loma Middle — South San Francisco, CA
Federal NCES profile for Alta Loma Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 42
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: South San Francisco Unified · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alta Loma Middle compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Alta Loma Middle reports 652 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 31.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% below the California average and 39% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 251 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding South San Francisco Unified spends $19,295 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 76.0% from local sources (property taxes), 16.7% from the state, and 7.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Alta Loma Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.5:1 | ▼ 14% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.7% | ▼ 43% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 652 | top 73% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
31.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.5:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 20% in California — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
23.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,295
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.6 FTE
Per 251 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 30 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 652 Top 73% in California — larger than 27% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 18.5:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 31.7% -43% vs state
NCES ID 063753006339
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 43.1%
Asian 39.4%
White 7.4%
Two or More 7.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
African American 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 43.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.6
Students per counselor 251:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.3%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 30
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for South San Francisco Unified, which includes Alta Loma Middle.
$19,295
Per student
+7%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 76.0%
State 16.7%
Federal 7.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,239
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,053
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 584
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 573
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 517
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
Similar middle schools in South San Francisco
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Alta Loma Middle
How many students attend Alta Loma Middle?
Alta Loma Middle has 652 students enrolled. It is a middle school in South San Francisco, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alta Loma Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Alta Loma Middle is 18.5:1, which is 14% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 16% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Alta Loma Middle?
31.7% of students at Alta Loma Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alta Loma Middle?
The largest demographic group at Alta Loma Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 43.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in South San Francisco, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alta Loma Middle?
Alta Loma Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.