Enrollment
47
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Big Sur, CA
Captain Cooper Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Captain Cooper Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060753000716
👥 S:T ratio 53
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 84
📋 Attendance 26
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Captain Cooper Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of California schools.
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.8:1
- small classes for California
- 54.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 47
- students enrolled
Captain Cooper Elementary has class sizes smaller than 94% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Carmel Unified · California
NCES ID 060753000716 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
4.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-45% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
54.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Captain Cooper Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Captain Cooper Elementary
Captain Cooper Elementary is a higher-need, small elementary school in Big Sur, California, enrolling 47 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.8:1, Captain Cooper Elementary is leaner than roughly 94% of California schools and 45% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 54.8% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 94% of California schools, with 47 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 91% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 133 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #46.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (53%) and White (38%) (diversity index 56/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 78 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 29.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Carmel Unified spends $31,314 per pupil, 90% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Carmel Unified also operates Carmel High (780 students) and Carmel Middle (468 students) alongside Captain Cooper Elementary.
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 Captain Cooper Elementary compares
Captain Cooper 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 | 11.8:1 | ▼ 45% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 54.8% | ▼ 1% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 47 | top 94% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.8:1
Leaner classes than 77% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
47
Bigger than 5% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
54.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% 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
11.8:1
students per teacher
- 45% below state mean
Top 6% in California - lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
29.8%
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
$31,314
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
Counselors0.6 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
Hispanic or Latino 53.2%
White 38.3%
Two or More 8.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 53.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 56.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 56.3, Captain Cooper Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Carmel Unified, which includes Captain Cooper Elementary.
$31,314
Per student
+90%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+89%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 83.5%
State 11.5%
Federal 5.0%
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.
How Captain Cooper Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carmel High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Carmel Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Tularcitos Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Carmel River Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Carmel Child Development Center | Smaller | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Captain Cooper Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 780
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 468
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 447
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 400
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 27
- Students per teacher
- 27:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
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 (~47 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Captain Cooper Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Captain Cooper Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Carmel Unified'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 Captain Cooper Elementary
How many students attend Captain Cooper Elementary?
Captain Cooper Elementary has 47 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Big Sur, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Captain Cooper Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Captain Cooper Elementary is 11.8:1, which is 45% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 25% 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 Captain Cooper Elementary?
54.8% of students at Captain Cooper Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Captain Cooper Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Captain Cooper Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 53.2% of enrollment, in Big Sur, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 56.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Captain Cooper Elementary?
Captain Cooper Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Captain Cooper Elementary a good school?
Captain Cooper Elementary earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 94% of California schools. 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 Carmel Unified?
Besides Captain Cooper Elementary, Carmel Unified also operates Carmel High (780 students), Carmel Middle (468 students), and Tularcitos Elementary (447 students). See the Carmel Unified district page for the complete list.
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.