Enrollment
197
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Aguanga, CA
Cottonwood
Federal NCES profile for Cottonwood, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061692002150
👥 S:T ratio 21
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 19
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cottonwood earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.7:1
- students per teacher
- 56.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 197
- students enrolled
Cottonwood has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Hemet Unified · California
NCES ID 061692002150 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.7:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
+2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottonwood compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cottonwood
Cottonwood is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Aguanga, California, enrolling 197 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 19.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 56.8% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 197 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 499 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #244.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (57%) and White (37%) (diversity index 53/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 197 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 15.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Hemet Unified also operates Hemet High (2,414 students) and West Valley High (1,857 students) alongside Cottonwood.
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 Cottonwood compares
Cottonwood on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.7:1 | ▼ 8% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.8% | ▲ 2% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 197 | top 83% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.7:1
Leaner classes than 17% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
197
Bigger than 19% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
56.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 2% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.7:1
students per teacher
- 8% below state mean
Top 33% in California - lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
32.5%
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
$15,767
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 197 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.0 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 57.4%
White 37.1%
Two or More 4.1%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 57.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 53.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 53.1, Cottonwood is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hemet Unified, which includes Cottonwood.
$15,767
Per student
-4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.5%
State 60.2%
Federal 15.4%
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.
How Cottonwood Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hemet High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Valley High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Tahquitz High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Diamond Valley Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dartmouth Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cottonwood's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,414
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 1,857
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 1,761
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Resource Index
- 18/100
- Enrollment
- 1,123
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Resource Index
- 9/100
- Enrollment
- 1,113
- Students per teacher
- 26.5:1
- Resource Index
- 7/100
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 (~197 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cottonwood's federal record.
- Compare Cottonwood against another school. Compare schools
- Hemet 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 Cottonwood
How many students attend Cottonwood?
Cottonwood has 197 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Aguanga, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood is 19.7:1, which is 8% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 25% higher 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 Cottonwood?
56.8% 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 Hispanic or Latino at 57.4% of enrollment, in Aguanga, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 53.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottonwood?
Cottonwood has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Cottonwood a good school?
Cottonwood earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Hemet Unified?
Besides Cottonwood, Hemet Unified also operates Hemet High (2,414 students), West Valley High (1,857 students), and Tahquitz High (1,761 students). See the Hemet 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.