Enrollment
15
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Trinidad, CA
Big Lagoon Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Big Lagoon Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060489000477
👥 S:T ratio 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Big Lagoon Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 89% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- 23
- Resource Index · Lower
- 15:1
- small classes for California
- 46.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 15
- students enrolled
Big Lagoon Elementary has class sizes smaller than 89% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Big Lagoon Union Elementary · California
NCES ID 060489000477 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
46.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Big Lagoon Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Big Lagoon Elementary
Big Lagoon Elementary is a small elementary school in Trinidad, California, enrolling 15 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 15:1, Big Lagoon Elementary is leaner than roughly 89% of California schools and 30% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 46.7% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 98% of California schools, with 15 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 57 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #51, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by American Indian / Alaska Native (60%) and Two or More (33%) (diversity index 53/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 73.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Big Lagoon Union Elementary spends $35,200 per pupil, 113% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Trinidad's elementary schools, it stands alongside Trinidad Union (161 students): Big Lagoon Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15:1 vs 17.9:1).
Big Lagoon Union Elementary operates only this one school, so Big Lagoon Elementary has no district-mates to compare against locally. At 15 students, it is also a small operation, on the smaller end of California's single-school districts.
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 Big Lagoon Elementary compares
Big Lagoon 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 | 15:1 | ▼ 30% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 46.7% | ▼ 16% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 15 | top 98% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15:1
Leaner classes than 47% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
15
Bigger than 2% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
46.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% 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
15:1
students per teacher
- 30% below state mean
Top 11% in California - lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
73.3%
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
$35,200
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially 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 + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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
American Indian / Alaska Native 60.0%
Two or More 33.3%
White 6.7%
Largest group: American Indian / Alaska Native at 60.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.5, Big Lagoon Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Big Lagoon Union Elementary, which includes Big Lagoon Elementary.
$35,200
Per student
+113%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+112%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.2%
State 55.4%
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.
Similar elementary schools in Trinidad
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 (~15 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Big Lagoon Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Big Lagoon Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Big Lagoon Union Elementary'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 Big Lagoon Elementary
How many students attend Big Lagoon Elementary?
Big Lagoon Elementary has 15 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Trinidad, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Lagoon Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Big Lagoon Elementary is 15:1, which is 30% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 4% lower 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 Big Lagoon Elementary?
46.7% of students at Big Lagoon Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Lagoon Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Big Lagoon Elementary is American Indian / Alaska Native at 60.0% of enrollment, in Trinidad, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Lagoon Elementary?
Big Lagoon Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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).
Is Big Lagoon Elementary a good school?
Big Lagoon Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 89% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 Big Lagoon Union Elementary?
None reported; Big Lagoon Union Elementary operates only Big Lagoon Elementary as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.