Enrollment
1,487
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063153009425
Bernardo Heights Middle — San Diego, CA
Federal NCES profile for Bernardo Heights Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 25/100.
👥 Class size 7
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 63
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: Poway 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)
61.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.2:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
-77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bernardo Heights Middle 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
Bernardo Heights Middle reports 1,487 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 61.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% 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 46% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 77% below the California average and 75% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 744 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Poway Unified spends $15,877 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.2% from local sources (property taxes), 39.4% from the state, and 6.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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 Bernardo Heights Middle 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 | 23.2:1 | ▲ 7% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.0% | ▼ 77% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,487 | top 94% | — | — |
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
13.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 77% 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
23.2:1
students per teacher
— 7% above state mean
Top 63% in California — lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
14.9%
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
$15,877
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 744 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,487 Top 94% in California — larger than 6% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 61.0
Students per teacher 23.2:1 +7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.0% -77% vs state
NCES ID 063153009425
Student demographics
White 41.4%
Asian 27.0%
Hispanic or Latino 16.7%
Two or More 12.6%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 41.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 744:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.9%
In-school suspensions 9
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poway Unified, which includes Bernardo Heights Middle.
$15,877
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.2%
State 39.4%
Federal 6.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 26.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,210
- Students per teacher
- 26:1
- Enrollment
- 2,116
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,101
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,800
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
Similar middle schools in San Diego
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Oak Valley Middle
Standard public school
1,503 students 24.8:1 students per teacher
Marshall Middle
Standard public school
1,390 students 25.8:1 students per teacher
Mesa Verde Middle
Standard public school
1,178 students 25.4:1 students per teacher
Black Mountain Middle
Standard public school
1,077 students 24:1 students per teacher
Lewis Middle
Standard public school
1,013 students 24.3:1 students per teacher
Pershing Middle
Standard public school
980 students 25.1:1 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 Bernardo Heights Middle
How many students attend Bernardo Heights Middle?
Bernardo Heights Middle has 1,487 students enrolled. It is a middle school in San Diego, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bernardo Heights Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Bernardo Heights Middle is 23.2:1, which is 7% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 46% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bernardo Heights Middle?
13.0% of students at Bernardo Heights Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bernardo Heights Middle?
The largest demographic group at Bernardo Heights Middle is White at 41.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Diego, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bernardo Heights Middle?
Bernardo Heights Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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.