Elementary school (grades K-5) · Ceres, CA

Don Pedro Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Don Pedro Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060813000786
0/100100/10023/100
👥 S:T ratio
8
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Don Pedro Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#3 of 11
elementary schools in Ceres · Resource Index
23
Resource Index · Lower
23.1:1
students per teacher
84.2%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Don Pedro Elementary ranks #3 of 11 elementary schools in Ceres, CA.

School address

Enrollment

439

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

19.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

23.1:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+7% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

84.2%

vs 55.5% California avg

+52% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Don Pedro Elementary 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 Don Pedro Elementary

Don Pedro Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Ceres, California, enrolling 439 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 23.1:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 84.2% of students qualify for free meals, 52% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 439 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,806 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #1,105.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Ceres's elementary schools, it stands alongside Lucas Elementary (668 students): Don Pedro Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (23.1:1 vs 26.7:1).

Ceres Unified also operates Central Valley High (2,317 students) and Ceres High (1,660 students) alongside Don Pedro Elementary.

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 Don Pedro Elementary compares

Don Pedro Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 23.1:1 ▲ 7% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 84.2% ▲ 52% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 439 top 54% - -

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

23.1:1
Leaner classes than 8% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
439
Bigger than 53% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
84.2%
free-lunch eligible - 52% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.1:1
students per teacher - 7% above state mean
Top 63% in California - lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
27.3%
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
$16,252
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 27 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.

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 85.2%
White 9.6%
Asian 2.3%
African American 1.1%
Two or More 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 85.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 26.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 26.4, Don Pedro Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ceres Unified, which includes Don Pedro Elementary.

$16,252
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 14.4%
State 74.5%
Federal 11.1%

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 Don Pedro Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Central Valley High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Ceres High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Cesar Chavez Junior High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Lucas Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Caswell Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Ceres Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Ceres

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 Don Pedro Elementary'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 Don Pedro Elementary

How many students attend Don Pedro Elementary?

Don Pedro Elementary has 439 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Ceres, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Don Pedro Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Don Pedro Elementary is 23.1:1, which is 7% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 47% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Don Pedro Elementary?

84.2% of students at Don Pedro Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Don Pedro Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Don Pedro Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 85.2% of enrollment, in Ceres, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Don Pedro Elementary?

Don Pedro Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Don Pedro Elementary rank among elementary schools in Ceres?

By Resource Investment Index, Don Pedro Elementary ranks #3 of 11 elementary schools in Ceres, 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 Ceres on the city page.

Is Don Pedro Elementary a good school?

Don Pedro Elementary earns 23/100 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 Ceres Unified?

Besides Don Pedro Elementary, Ceres Unified also operates Central Valley High (2,317 students), Ceres High (1,660 students), and Cesar Chavez Junior High (685 students). See the Ceres 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.

View saved

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.