Enrollment
585
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Wheatland, CA
Bear River
Federal NCES profile for Bear River, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 24/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 064233006925
👥 S:T ratio 22
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 44
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bear River earns 24/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- #3 of 5
- public schools in Wheatland · Resource Index
- 24
- Resource Index · Lower
- 19.5:1
- students per teacher
- 45.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Bear River has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Bear River ranks #3 of 5 public schools in Wheatland, CA.
School address
District: Wheatland · California
NCES ID 064233006925 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bear River compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bear River
Bear River is a mid-sized elementary school in Wheatland, California, enrolling 585 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 19.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 45.6% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 585 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 1,416 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #844.
Its student body is led by White (52%) and Hispanic or Latino (32%) (diversity index 61/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 585 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 17.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Wheatland's elementary schools, it stands alongside Wheatland Elementary (380 students): Bear River is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (19.5:1 vs 21.1:1).
Wheatland also operates Wheatland Elementary (380 students) and Lone Tree Elementary (305 students) alongside Bear River.
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 Bear River compares
Bear River on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.5:1 | ▼ 9% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.6% | ▼ 18% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 585 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.5:1
Leaner classes than 18% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
585
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
45.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 18% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher
- 9% below state mean
Top 31% in California - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
22.4%
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
$16,569
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 585 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 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
White 52.1%
Hispanic or Latino 32.1%
Two or More 10.1%
Asian 2.4%
African American 1.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 52.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 61.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 61.4, Bear River is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wheatland, which includes Bear River.
$16,569
Per student
+0%
vs California
Avg $16,509
0%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 13.8%
State 68.9%
Federal 17.3%
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 Bear River Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheatland Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lone Tree Elementary | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Wheatland Charter Academy | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bear River's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 380
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 305
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 89
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar elementary schools in Wheatland
1 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.
Similar enrollment (~585 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bear River's federal record.
- Compare Bear River against another school. Compare schools
- Wheatland'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 Bear River
How many students attend Bear River?
Bear River has 585 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Wheatland, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bear River?
The student-teacher ratio at Bear River is 19.5:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 24% 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 Bear River?
45.6% of students at Bear River are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bear River?
The largest demographic group at Bear River is White at 52.1% of enrollment, in Wheatland, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.4/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bear River?
Bear River has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Bear River rank among public schools in Wheatland?
By Resource Investment Index, Bear River ranks #3 of 5 public schools in Wheatland, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Wheatland on the city page.
Is Bear River a good school?
Bear River earns 24/100 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 Wheatland?
Besides Bear River, Wheatland also operates Wheatland Elementary (380 students), Lone Tree Elementary (305 students), and Wheatland Charter Academy (89 students). See the Wheatland 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.