Enrollment
508
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060744000745
Arroyo Vista Elementary — Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Federal NCES profile for Arroyo Vista Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 72
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: Capistrano 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)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Arroyo Vista Elementary 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
Arroyo Vista Elementary reports 508 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 22.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 14.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 73% below the California average and 71% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1016 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Capistrano Unified spends $15,039 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 61.2% from local sources (property taxes), 31.0% from the state, and 7.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Arroyo Vista Elementary 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 | 22.6:1 | ▲ 5% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.9% | ▼ 73% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 508 | top 56% | — | — |
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
14.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 73% 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
22.6:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 56% in California — lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
11.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,039
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
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 1016 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 508 Top 56% in California — larger than 44% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 22.0
Students per teacher 22.6:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 14.9% -73% vs state
NCES ID 060744000745
Student demographics
White 56.1%
Two or More 17.9%
Hispanic or Latino 14.8%
Asian 10.8%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 56.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 1016:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.4%
In-school suspensions 9
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Capistrano Unified, which includes Arroyo Vista Elementary.
$15,039
Per student
-17%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 61.2%
State 31.0%
Federal 7.7%
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
- 2,740
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,641
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,563
- Students per teacher
- 24.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,030
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,991
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar elementary schools in Rancho Santa Margarita
5 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Melinda Heights Elementary
Standard public school
950 students 25.9:1 students per teacher
Trabuco Mesa Elementary
Standard public school
640 students 23.4:1 students per teacher
Cielo Vista Elementary
Standard public school
487 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Las Flores Elementary
Standard public school
328 students 25.1:1 students per teacher
Tijeras Creek Elementary
Standard public school
315 students 24.3:1 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 Arroyo Vista Elementary
How many students attend Arroyo Vista Elementary?
Arroyo Vista Elementary has 508 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Arroyo Vista Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Arroyo Vista Elementary is 22.6:1, which is 5% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Arroyo Vista Elementary?
14.9% of students at Arroyo Vista Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Arroyo Vista Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Arroyo Vista Elementary is White at 56.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Arroyo Vista Elementary?
Arroyo Vista Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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.