Elementary school (grades K-5) · Imperial Beach, CA

Bayside Steam Academy

Federal NCES profile for Bayside Steam Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 15/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063738006315
0/100100/10015/100
👥 S:T ratio
15
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Bayside Steam Academy earns 15/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#1 of 5
elementary schools in Imperial Beach · Resource Index
15
Resource Index · Lower
21.3:1
students per teacher
65.4%
free-lunch eligible

Bayside Steam Academy has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Bayside Steam Academy ranks #1 of 5 elementary schools in Imperial Beach, CA.

Enrollment

362

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

17.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-1% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

65.4%

vs 55.5% California avg

+18% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Bayside Steam Academy 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 Bayside Steam Academy

Bayside Steam Academy is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Imperial Beach, California, enrolling 362 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.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 65.4% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 362 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 91% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 1,539 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,294, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 47.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 16.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Imperial Beach's elementary schools, it stands alongside Imperial Beach Charter (724 students): Bayside Steam Academy is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (21.3:1 vs 22.6:1).

South Bay Union also operates Nestor Language Academy Charter (1,079 students) and Imperial Beach Charter (724 students) alongside Bayside Steam Academy.

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 Bayside Steam Academy compares

Bayside Steam Academy 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 65.4% ▲ 18% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 362 top 66% - -

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.
362
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
65.4%
free-lunch eligible - 18% 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
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
47.0%
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
$18,310
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 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 84.0%
White 6.1%
Two or More 5.2%
Asian 3.9%
African American 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 84.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 28.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 28.6, Bayside Steam Academy is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for South Bay Union, which includes Bayside Steam Academy.

$18,310
Per student
+11%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+10%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 27.7%
State 55.4%
Federal 16.9%

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 Bayside Steam Academy Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Nestor Language Academy Charter Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Imperial Beach Charter Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
George Nicoloff Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Teofilo Mendoza Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Oneonta Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Bayside Steam Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

South Bay Union · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Imperial Beach

4 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 Bayside Steam Academy'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 Bayside Steam Academy

How many students attend Bayside Steam Academy?

Bayside Steam Academy has 362 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Imperial Beach, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Bayside Steam Academy?

The student-teacher ratio at Bayside Steam Academy 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 Bayside Steam Academy?

65.4% of students at Bayside Steam Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bayside Steam Academy?

The largest demographic group at Bayside Steam Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 84.0% of enrollment, in Imperial Beach, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Bayside Steam Academy?

Bayside Steam Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 15/100 (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 Bayside Steam Academy rank among elementary schools in Imperial Beach?

By Resource Investment Index, Bayside Steam Academy ranks #1 of 5 elementary schools in Imperial Beach, 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 Imperial Beach on the city page.

Is Bayside Steam Academy a good school?

Bayside Steam Academy earns 15/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 South Bay Union?

Besides Bayside Steam Academy, South Bay Union also operates Nestor Language Academy Charter (1,079 students), Imperial Beach Charter (724 students), and George Nicoloff Elementary (616 students). See the South Bay Union 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.