Enrollment
919
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060744007587
Bernice Ayer Middle — San Clemente, CA
Federal NCES profile for Bernice Ayer Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 55
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
-45% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bernice Ayer 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
Bernice Ayer Middle reports 919 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 29% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 45% below the California average and 41% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 919 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.1% 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 36/100 (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 Bernice Ayer 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 | 20.5:1 | ▼ 5% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.7% | ▼ 45% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 919 | top 87% | — | — |
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
30.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 45% 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
20.5:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 34% in California — lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.1%
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 919 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 919 Top 87% in California — larger than 13% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 20.5:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.7% -45% vs state
NCES ID 060744007587
Student demographics
White 58.9%
Hispanic or Latino 30.1%
Two or More 9.1%
Asian 1.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 58.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 919:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.1%
In-school suspensions 6
Out-of-school suspensions 36
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Capistrano Unified, which includes Bernice Ayer Middle.
$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 middle schools in San Clemente
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Bernice Ayer Middle
How many students attend Bernice Ayer Middle?
Bernice Ayer Middle has 919 students enrolled. It is a middle school in San Clemente, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bernice Ayer Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Bernice Ayer Middle is 20.5:1, which is 5% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 29% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bernice Ayer Middle?
30.7% of students at Bernice Ayer Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bernice Ayer Middle?
The largest demographic group at Bernice Ayer Middle is White at 58.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Clemente, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bernice Ayer Middle?
Bernice Ayer Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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.