Enrollment
2
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Santa Barbara, CA
Alta Vista
Federal NCES profile for Alta Vista, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 81/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 060141412760
👥 S:T ratio 92
🌟 Gifted program 70
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Alta Vista earns 81/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- #1 of 4
- middle schools in Santa Barbara · Resource Index
- 81
- Resource Index · Higher
- 2:1
- small classes for California
- 2
- students enrolled
Alta Vista has class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Alta Vista ranks #1 of 4 middle schools in Santa Barbara, CA.
School address
District: Santa Barbara Unified · California
NCES ID 060141412760 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
2:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-91% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alta Vista compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Alta Vista
Alta Vista is a small middle school in Santa Barbara, California, enrolling 2 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 2:1, Alta Vista is leaner than roughly 99% of California schools and 91% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 99% of California schools, with 2 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 100% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
Among Santa Barbara's middle schools, it stands alongside La Colina Junior High (832 students): Alta Vista is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (2:1 vs 20.3:1).
Santa Barbara Unified also operates Dos Pueblos Senior High (2,149 students) and San Marcos Senior High (1,926 students) alongside Alta Vista.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Alta Vista compares
Alta Vista on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 2:1 | ▼ 91% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 2 | top 100% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
2:1
Leaner classes than 100% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
2
Bigger than 0% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
2:1
students per teacher
- 91% below state mean
Top 1% in California - lower ratio than 100% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$16,366
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 100.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Alta Vista is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Barbara Unified, which includes Alta Vista.
$16,366
Per student
-1%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 72.3%
State 18.5%
Federal 9.2%
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.
How Alta Vista Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dos Pueblos Senior High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| San Marcos Senior High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Santa Barbara Senior High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| La Colina Junior High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Goleta Valley Junior High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Alta Vista's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,149
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,926
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 1,924
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 832
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 731
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar middle schools in Santa Barbara
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~2 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Alta Vista's federal record.
- Compare Alta Vista against another school. Compare schools
- Santa Barbara Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Alta Vista
How many students attend Alta Vista?
Alta Vista has 2 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Santa Barbara, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alta Vista?
The student-teacher ratio at Alta Vista is 2:1, which is 91% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 87% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alta Vista?
The largest demographic group at Alta Vista is Hispanic or Latino at 100.0% of enrollment, in Santa Barbara, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alta Vista?
Alta Vista has a Resource Investment Index of 81/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
How does Alta Vista rank among middle schools in Santa Barbara?
By Resource Investment Index, Alta Vista ranks #1 of 4 middle schools in Santa Barbara, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Santa Barbara on the city page.
Is Alta Vista a good school?
Alta Vista earns 81/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Santa Barbara Unified?
Besides Alta Vista, Santa Barbara Unified also operates Dos Pueblos Senior High (2,149 students), San Marcos Senior High (1,926 students), and Santa Barbara Senior High (1,924 students). See the Santa Barbara Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.