Elementary school (grades K-5) · Santa Maria, CA

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060558009314
0/100100/10030/100
👥 S:T ratio
15
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
6
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#5 of 24
elementary schools in Santa Maria · Resource Index
30
Resource Index · Lower
21.3:1
students per teacher
85.0%
free-lunch eligible

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary ranks #5 of 24 elementary schools in Santa Maria, CA.

Enrollment

298

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

14.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-1% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

85.0%

vs 55.5% California avg

+53% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Santa Maria, California, enrolling 298 students.

At 21.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need is high: 85.0% of students qualify for free meals, 53% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 298 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,008 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #460.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 5/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Santa Maria's elementary schools, it stands alongside Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary (1,177 students): Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (21.3:1 vs 29.4:1).

Santa Maria-Bonita also operates Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary (1,177 students) and Bruce (Robert) Elementary (1,050 students) alongside Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary.

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 Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary compares

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 21.3:1 ▼ 1% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 85.0% ▲ 53% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 298 top 74% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

21.3:1
Leaner classes than 12% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
298
Bigger than 32% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
85.0%
free-lunch eligible - 53% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21.3:1
students per teacher - 1% below state mean
Top 46% in California - lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
37.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,410
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 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 97.7%
White 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 4.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 4.5, Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria-Bonita, which includes Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary.

$14,410
Per student
-13%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 19.7%
State 68.7%
Federal 11.6%

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 Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Bruce (Robert) Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Alvin Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Fesler (Isaac) Junior High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Santa Maria-Bonita · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Santa Maria

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary's federal record.

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 Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary

How many students attend Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary?

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary has 298 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Santa Maria, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary is 21.3:1, which is 1% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 36% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary?

85.0% of students at Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 97.7% of enrollment, in Santa Maria, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary?

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary rank among elementary schools in Santa Maria?

By Resource Investment Index, Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary ranks #5 of 24 elementary schools in Santa Maria, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Santa Maria on the city page.

Is Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary a good school?

Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools. 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 Maria-Bonita?

Besides Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary, Santa Maria-Bonita also operates Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary (1,177 students), Bruce (Robert) Elementary (1,050 students), and Alvin Elementary (998 students). See the Santa Maria-Bonita district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.