Enrollment
668
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060558010660
Arellanes Junior High — Santa Maria, CA
Federal NCES profile for Arellanes Junior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 33
📋 Attendance 9
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: Santa Maria-Bonita · 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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
76.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Arellanes Junior High 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
Arellanes Junior High reports 668 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% 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 25% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 76.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% above the California average and 47% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 334 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 36.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Santa Maria-Bonita spends $15,149 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.7% from local sources (property taxes), 68.7% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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 Arellanes Junior High 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 | 19.9:1 | ▼ 8% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 76.0% | ▲ 37% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 668 | top 74% | — | — |
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
76.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.9:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 29% in California — lower ratio than 71% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
36.4%
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
$15,149
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 334 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 668 Top 74% in California — larger than 26% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 19.9:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 76.0% +37% vs state
NCES ID 060558010660
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 94.5%
White 2.5%
Asian 2.1%
African American 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 94.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 334:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 36.4%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 38
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria-Bonita, which includes Arellanes Junior High.
$15,149
Per student
-16%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,177
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,050
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Enrollment
- 998
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 974
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 917
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar middle schools in Santa Maria
5 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Fesler (Isaac) Junior High
Standard public school
974 students 18.8:1 students per teacher
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High
Standard public school
912 students 18.4:1 students per teacher
El Camino Junior High
Standard public school
830 students 17.3:1 students per teacher
Orcutt Junior High
Standard public school
464 students 21.3:1 students per teacher
Lakeview Junior High
Standard public school
463 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
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 Arellanes Junior High
How many students attend Arellanes Junior High?
Arellanes Junior High has 668 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Arellanes Junior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Arellanes Junior High is 19.9:1, which is 8% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 25% 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 Arellanes Junior High?
76.0% of students at Arellanes Junior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Arellanes Junior High?
The largest demographic group at Arellanes Junior High is Hispanic or Latino at 94.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Arellanes Junior High?
Arellanes Junior High has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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.