Enrollment
3,563
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060252414444 Charter school
Cottonwood — El Dorado Hills, CA
Federal NCES profile for Cottonwood, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 100
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: Cottonwood 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)
97.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
28.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottonwood 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
Cottonwood reports 3,563 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 97.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 28.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 33% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 81% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 44.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 21% below the California average and 15% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 3563 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 0.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cottonwood District spends $11,547 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.2% from local sources (property taxes), 67.5% from the state, and 9.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F), 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 Cottonwood 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 | 28.8:1 | ▲ 33% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.1% | ▼ 21% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 3,563 | top 100% | — | — |
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
44.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 21% 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
28.8:1
students per teacher
— 33% above state mean
Top 97% in California — lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
0.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$11,547
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 3563 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 3,563 Top 100% in California — larger than 0% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 97.0
Students per teacher 28.8:1 +33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 44.1% -21% vs state
NCES ID 060252414444
Student demographics
White 69.8%
Hispanic or Latino 15.6%
Two or More 9.7%
Asian 3.1%
African American 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 69.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 10
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 3563:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 0.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cottonwood District, which includes Cottonwood.
$11,547
Per student
-36%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-41%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.2%
State 67.5%
Federal 9.3%
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 other schools in El Dorado Hills
4 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Clarksville Charter
Standard public school
2,347 students 30.7:1 students per teacher
Oak Ridge High
Standard public school
2,346 students 25.2:1 students per teacher
John Adams Academy - El Dorado Hills
Standard public school
1,580 students 23:1 students per teacher
Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter
Standard public school
180 students 15.5:1 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 Cottonwood
How many students attend Cottonwood?
Cottonwood has 3,563 students enrolled. It is a other school in El Dorado Hills, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood is 28.8:1, which is 33% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 81% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cottonwood?
44.1% of students at Cottonwood are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cottonwood?
The largest demographic group at Cottonwood is White at 69.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in El Dorado Hills, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottonwood?
Cottonwood has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.