Enrollment
293
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 061074001189
Del Mar Heights Elementary — Del Mar, CA
Federal NCES profile for Del Mar Heights Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 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: Del Mar Union Elementary · 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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
7.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
-87% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Del Mar Heights 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
Del Mar Heights Elementary reports 293 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 24% 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 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 7.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 87% below the California average and 86% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Del Mar Union Elementary spends $34,103 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 84.4% from local sources (property taxes), 13.1% from the state, and 2.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Del Mar Heights 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 | 16.4:1 | ▼ 24% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 7.4% | ▼ 87% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 293 | top 25% | — | — |
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
7.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 87% 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
16.4:1
students per teacher
— 24% below state mean
Top 12% in California — lower ratio than 88% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.4%
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
$34,103
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 293 Top 25% in California — larger than 75% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 16.4:1 -24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 7.4% -87% vs state
NCES ID 061074001189
Student demographics
White 58.7%
Two or More 14.3%
Asian 13.7%
Hispanic or Latino 12.3%
African American 1.0%
Largest group: White at 58.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Del Mar Union Elementary, which includes Del Mar Heights Elementary.
$34,103
Per student
+89%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+75%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 84.4%
State 13.1%
Federal 2.5%
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
- 562
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 457
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 450
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 389
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 386
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Del Mar
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Del Mar Heights Elementary
How many students attend Del Mar Heights Elementary?
Del Mar Heights Elementary has 293 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Del Mar, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Del Mar Heights Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Del Mar Heights Elementary is 16.4:1, which is 24% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 3% higher 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 Del Mar Heights Elementary?
7.4% of students at Del Mar Heights Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Del Mar Heights Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Del Mar Heights Elementary is White at 58.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Del Mar, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Del Mar Heights Elementary?
Del Mar Heights Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.