Enrollment
727
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 060178408714 Charter school
Desert Sands Charter — Lancaster, CA
Federal NCES profile for Desert Sands Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 25/100.
👥 Class size 18
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 68
📋 Attendance 0
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: Desert Sands Charter 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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
78.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
+42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Desert Sands Charter 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
Desert Sands Charter reports 727 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% 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 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 78.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 42% above the California average and 52% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 160 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 69.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Desert Sands Charter District spends $40,532 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 10.7% from local sources (property taxes), 81.3% from the state, and 7.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Desert Sands Charter 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 | 20.6:1 | ▼ 5% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 78.6% | ▲ 42% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 727 | top 78% | — | — |
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
78.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 42% 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
20.6:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 35% in California — lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
69.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$40,532
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
Counselors4.6 FTE
Per 160 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 727 Top 78% in California — larger than 22% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 20.6:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 78.6% +42% vs state
NCES ID 060178408714
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 60.0%
Two or More 14.7%
African American 13.6%
White 11.1%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 60.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 4.6
Students per counselor 160:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 69.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Desert Sands Charter District, which includes Desert Sands Charter.
$40,532
Per student
+125%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+108%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 10.7%
State 81.3%
Federal 7.9%
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 high schools in Lancaster
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Lancaster High
Standard public school
2,688 students 24.5:1 students per teacher
Eastside High
Standard public school
2,631 students 25.5:1 students per teacher
Antelope Valley High
Standard public school
1,498 students 22.9:1 students per teacher
Soar High (Students on Academic Rise)
Alternative education program
670 students 31.6:1 students per teacher
Desert Winds Continuation High
Alternative education program
605 students 22.7:1 students per teacher
Empower Generations
Standard public school
81 students 20.3:1 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 Desert Sands Charter
How many students attend Desert Sands Charter?
Desert Sands Charter has 727 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lancaster, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Sands Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Desert Sands Charter is 20.6:1, which is 5% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 30% 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 Desert Sands Charter?
78.6% of students at Desert Sands Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Sands Charter?
The largest demographic group at Desert Sands Charter is Hispanic or Latino at 60.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lancaster, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Sands Charter?
Desert Sands Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (F) based on 5 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.