Enrollment
929
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063492005902
Bowditch Middle — Foster City, CA
Federal NCES profile for Bowditch Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 21
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 75
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 →
The verdict
Bowditch Middle earns a C- Resource Investment Index (51/100), with class sizes smaller than 73% of California schools.
- C-
- Resource Index · 51/100
- 19.7:1
- small classes for California
- 7.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 929
- students enrolled
School address
District: San Mateo-Foster City · 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)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
7.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-87% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bowditch 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
Bowditch Middle reports 929 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 46.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% 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 24% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 7.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 87% below the California average and 86% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 310 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding San Mateo-Foster City spends $22,374 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 79.9% from local sources (property taxes), 14.6% from the state, and 5.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), 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 Bowditch 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 | 19.7:1 | ▼ 9% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 7.2% | ▼ 87% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 929 | top 87% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
20 smaller classes than 17% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
929 larger than 90% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
7.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 87% 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
19.7:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 27% in California — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$22,374
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 310 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
18
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 929 Top 87% in California — larger than 13% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 46.0
Students per teacher 19.7:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 7.2% -87% vs state
NCES ID 063492005902
Student demographics
Asian 53.9%
White 16.6%
Hispanic or Latino 15.5%
Two or More 12.0%
African American 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Asian at 53.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 310:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.9%
In-school suspensions 18
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Mateo-Foster City, which includes Bowditch Middle.
$22,374
Per student
+24%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 79.9%
State 14.6%
Federal 5.4%
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
- 903
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 840
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 721
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 624
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 489
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
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 Bowditch Middle
How many students attend Bowditch Middle?
Bowditch Middle has 929 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Foster City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bowditch Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Bowditch Middle is 19.7:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 24% 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 Bowditch Middle?
7.2% of students at Bowditch Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bowditch Middle?
The largest demographic group at Bowditch Middle is Asian at 53.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Foster City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bowditch Middle?
Bowditch Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) 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.