Elementary school (grades K-5) · Riverside, CA

Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Benjamin Franklin Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063315010030
0/100100/10031/100
👥 S:T ratio
4
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Benjamin Franklin Elementary earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 71% of California schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#3 of 43
elementary schools in Riverside · Resource Index
31
Resource Index · Lower
24:1
large classes for California
33.5%
free-lunch eligible

Benjamin Franklin Elementary has class sizes larger than 71% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Benjamin Franklin Elementary ranks #3 of 43 elementary schools in Riverside, CA.

School address

Enrollment

767

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

32.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

24:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+12% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

33.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

-40% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Benjamin Franklin Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Benjamin Franklin Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Riverside, California, enrolling 767 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 24:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 33.5% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 767 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

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

Against 1,242 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #601.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (43%) and White (30%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 70/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 1534 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Riverside's elementary schools, it stands alongside Mark Twain Elementary (1,033 students): Benjamin Franklin Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (24:1 vs 26.5:1).

Riverside Unified also operates Martin Luther King Jr. High (2,699 students) and Polytechnic High (2,484 students) alongside Benjamin Franklin 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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary compares

Benjamin Franklin 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 24:1 ▲ 12% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 33.5% ▼ 40% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 767 top 19% - -

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

24:1
Leaner classes than 6% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
767
Bigger than 84% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
33.5%
free-lunch eligible - 40% 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
24:1
students per teacher - 12% above state mean
Top 71% in California - lower ratio than 29% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
20.7%
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
$14,545
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
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 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 43.0%
White 29.6%
Asian 15.0%
African American 6.0%
Two or More 5.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 43.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 69.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 69.8, Benjamin Franklin Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Riverside Unified, which includes Benjamin Franklin Elementary.

$14,545
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.1%
State 64.5%
Federal 11.4%

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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Martin Luther King Jr. High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Polytechnic High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Ramona High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
John W. North High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Arlington High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Benjamin Franklin Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Riverside Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Riverside

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 Benjamin Franklin 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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary

How many students attend Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

Benjamin Franklin Elementary has 767 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Riverside, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Benjamin Franklin Elementary is 24:1, which is 12% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 53% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

33.5% of students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Benjamin Franklin Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 43.0% of enrollment, in Riverside, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 69.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

Benjamin Franklin Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary rank among elementary schools in Riverside?

By Resource Investment Index, Benjamin Franklin Elementary ranks #3 of 43 elementary schools in Riverside, 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 Riverside on the city page.

Is Benjamin Franklin Elementary a good school?

Benjamin Franklin Elementary earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 71% of California schools. It is also more 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 Riverside Unified?

Besides Benjamin Franklin Elementary, Riverside Unified also operates Martin Luther King Jr. High (2,699 students), Polytechnic High (2,484 students), and Ramona High (2,142 students). See the Riverside Unified 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.