Elementary school (grades K-5) · San Diego, CA

Dana

Federal NCES profile for Dana, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063432007683
0/100100/10028/100
👥 S:T ratio
11
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
35
📋 Attendance
36
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Dana earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#106 of 179
elementary schools in San Diego · Resource Index
28
Resource Index · Lower
22.3:1
students per teacher
25.2%
free-lunch eligible

Dana has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Dana ranks #106 of 179 elementary schools in San Diego, CA.

School address

Enrollment

646

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

29.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

22.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+4% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

25.2%

vs 55.5% California avg

-55% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Dana compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Dana

Dana is a mid-sized elementary school in San Diego, California, enrolling 646 students.

At 22.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 25.2% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 646 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,360 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #922.

Its student body is led by White (52%) and Hispanic or Latino (30%) (diversity index 63/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 323 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among San Diego's elementary schools, it stands alongside Albert Einstein Academies (1,448 students): Dana is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (22.3:1 vs 24.1:1).

San Diego Unified also operates Henry High (2,485 students) and Mira Mesa High (2,187 students) alongside Dana.

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 Dana compares

Dana on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 22.3:1 ▲ 4% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 25.2% ▼ 55% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 646 top 28% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

22.3:1
Leaner classes than 10% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
646
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
25.2%
free-lunch eligible - 55% 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
22.3:1
students per teacher - 4% above state mean
Top 56% in California - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
25.7%
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
$18,665
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 323 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 20 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.7 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

White 51.9%
Hispanic or Latino 29.7%
Two or More 11.1%
African American 4.0%
Asian 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: White at 51.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 62.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 62.8, Dana is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Diego Unified, which includes Dana.

$18,665
Per student
+13%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 60.5%
State 25.1%
Federal 14.4%

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 Dana Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Henry High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mira Mesa High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hoover High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Scripps Ranch High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Point Loma High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Dana's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

San Diego Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in San Diego

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Dana's federal record.

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 Dana

How many students attend Dana?

Dana has 646 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in San Diego, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Dana?

The student-teacher ratio at Dana is 22.3:1, which is 4% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dana?

25.2% of students at Dana are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dana?

The largest demographic group at Dana is White at 51.9% of enrollment, in San Diego, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Dana?

Dana has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower 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).

How does Dana rank among elementary schools in San Diego?

By Resource Investment Index, Dana ranks #106 of 179 elementary schools in San Diego, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in San Diego on the city page.

Is Dana a good school?

Dana earns 28/100 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 San Diego Unified?

Besides Dana, San Diego Unified also operates Henry High (2,485 students), Mira Mesa High (2,187 students), and Hoover High (2,011 students). See the San Diego Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.