Enrollment
429
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 061551006622
Brandon Elementary — Goleta, CA
Federal NCES profile for Brandon Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 23
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 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: Goleta Union Elementary · 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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Brandon Elementary 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
Brandon Elementary reports 429 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% 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 21% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% below the California average and 36% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Goleta Union Elementary spends $23,097 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 70.3% from local sources (property taxes), 19.6% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Brandon Elementary 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 | 19.3:1 | ▼ 11% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.3% | ▼ 40% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 429 | top 44% | — | — |
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
33.3%
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
19.3:1
students per teacher
— 11% below state mean
Top 24% in California — lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.2%
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
$23,097
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
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
Enrollment 429 Top 44% in California — larger than 56% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 19.3:1 -11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.3% -40% vs state
NCES ID 061551006622
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 48.0%
White 37.8%
Two or More 9.8%
Asian 3.7%
African American 0.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 48.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Goleta Union Elementary, which includes Brandon Elementary.
$23,097
Per student
+28%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 70.3%
State 19.6%
Federal 10.1%
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
- 418
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 413
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 393
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 369
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 369
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Goleta
5 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Isla Vista Elementary
Standard public school
418 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
Kellogg Elementary
Standard public school
369 students 19.5:1 students per teacher
La Patera Elementary
Standard public school
369 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Ellwood Elementary
Standard public school
303 students 18.9:1 students per teacher
Santa Barbara Charter
Standard public school
269 students 23.6:1 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 Brandon Elementary
How many students attend Brandon Elementary?
Brandon Elementary has 429 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Goleta, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Brandon Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Brandon Elementary is 19.3:1, which is 11% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 21% 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 Brandon Elementary?
33.3% of students at Brandon Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Brandon Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Brandon Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 48.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Goleta, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Brandon Elementary?
Brandon Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.