Enrollment
776
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060217010698 Charter school
Connecting Waters Charter — Waterford, CA
Federal NCES profile for Connecting Waters Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 56
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 97
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: Connecting Waters Charter District · 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)
69.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-49% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Connecting Waters Charter 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
Connecting Waters Charter reports 776 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 69.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 49% 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 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 45.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 18% below the California average and 12% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 517 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 1.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Connecting Waters Charter District spends $11,654 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 18.7% from local sources (property taxes), 80.5% from the state, and 0.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), 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 Connecting Waters Charter 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 | 11:1 | ▼ 49% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.5% | ▼ 18% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 776 | top 81% | — | — |
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
45.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 18% 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
11:1
students per teacher
— 49% below state mean
Top 4% in California — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
1.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$11,654
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
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 517 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 776 Top 81% in California — larger than 19% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 69.0
Students per teacher 11:1 -49% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 45.5% -18% vs state
NCES ID 060217010698
Student demographics
White 43.9%
Hispanic or Latino 35.1%
Two or More 10.5%
Asian 8.8%
African American 1.8%
Largest group: White at 43.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 517:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 1.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Connecting Waters Charter District, which includes Connecting Waters Charter.
$11,654
Per student
-35%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 18.7%
State 80.5%
Federal 0.8%
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.
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 Connecting Waters Charter
How many students attend Connecting Waters Charter?
Connecting Waters Charter has 776 students enrolled. It is a other school in Waterford, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Connecting Waters Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Connecting Waters Charter is 11:1, which is 49% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 31% lower 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 Connecting Waters Charter?
45.5% of students at Connecting Waters Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Connecting Waters Charter?
The largest demographic group at Connecting Waters Charter is White at 43.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Waterford, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Connecting Waters Charter?
Connecting Waters Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.