Enrollment
354
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063153010005
Deer Canyon Elementary — San Diego, CA
Federal NCES profile for Deer Canyon Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 62
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: Poway Unified · 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)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
7.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-86% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Deer Canyon Elementary 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
Deer Canyon Elementary reports 354 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 15.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% 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 57% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 7.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 86% below the California average and 85% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 590 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Poway Unified spends $15,877 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.2% from local sources (property taxes), 39.4% from the state, and 6.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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 Deer Canyon Elementary 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 | 24.9:1 | ▲ 15% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 7.8% | ▼ 86% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 354 | top 33% | — | — |
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
7.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 86% 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
24.9:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 81% in California — lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
15.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,877
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
Counselors0.6 FTE
Per 590 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 354 Top 33% in California — larger than 67% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 15.0
Students per teacher 24.9:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 7.8% -86% vs state
NCES ID 063153010005
Student demographics
Asian 50.0%
White 27.4%
Two or More 11.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.3%
African American 1.7%
Largest group: Asian at 50.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.6
Students per counselor 590:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poway Unified, which includes Deer Canyon Elementary.
$15,877
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.2%
State 39.4%
Federal 6.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 26.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,210
- Students per teacher
- 26:1
- Enrollment
- 2,116
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,101
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,800
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
Similar elementary schools in San Diego
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Albert Einstein Academies
Standard public school
1,448 students 24:1 students per teacher
Design 39 Campus
Standard public school
1,216 students 27.2:1 students per teacher
Nestor Language Academy Charter
Standard public school
1,079 students 24.7:1 students per teacher
Ocean View Hills
Standard public school
1,020 students 22.4:1 students per teacher
Language Academy
Standard public school
1,015 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Del Sur Elementary
Standard public school
891 students 26.2:1 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 Deer Canyon Elementary
How many students attend Deer Canyon Elementary?
Deer Canyon Elementary has 354 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in San Diego, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Deer Canyon Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Deer Canyon Elementary is 24.9:1, which is 15% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 57% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Deer Canyon Elementary?
7.8% of students at Deer Canyon Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Deer Canyon Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Deer Canyon Elementary is Asian at 50.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Diego, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Deer Canyon Elementary?
Deer Canyon Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F) 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.