Enrollment
55
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Kingvale, CA
Donner Trail Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Donner Trail Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 66/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063877006512
👥 S:T ratio 27
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 89
📋 Attendance 77
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Donner Trail Elementary earns 66/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
- 66
- Resource Index · Higher
- 18.3:1
- small classes for California
- 5.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 55
- students enrolled
Donner Trail Elementary has class sizes smaller than 77% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Tahoe-Truckee Unified · California
NCES ID 063877006512 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.3:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
5.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-90% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Donner Trail Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Donner Trail Elementary
Donner Trail Elementary is a lower-poverty, small elementary school in Kingvale, California, enrolling 55 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 18.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 5.5% free-meal eligibility runs 90% below the California average.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of California schools, with 55 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 26 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #5.
Its student body is predominantly White (95% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 55 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 9.1% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Tahoe-Truckee Unified spends $20,636 per pupil, 25% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Tahoe-Truckee Unified also operates Tahoe Truckee High (907 students) and Alder Creek Middle (535 students) alongside Donner Trail 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 Donner Trail Elementary compares
Donner Trail 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 | 18.3:1 | ▼ 15% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 5.5% | ▼ 90% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 55 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18.3:1
Leaner classes than 23% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
55
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
5.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 90% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.3:1
students per teacher
- 15% below state mean
Top 23% in California - lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$20,636
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 55 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
- 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 94.5%
Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
Two or More 1.8%
Largest group: White at 94.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 10.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 10.5, Donner Trail Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tahoe-Truckee Unified, which includes Donner Trail Elementary.
$20,636
Per student
+25%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 72.2%
State 22.4%
Federal 5.4%
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 Donner Trail Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tahoe Truckee High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Alder Creek Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Truckee Elementary | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Glenshire Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| North Tahoe High | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Donner Trail Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 907
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 535
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 515
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 499
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 468
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~55 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Donner Trail Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Donner Trail Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Tahoe-Truckee Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Donner Trail Elementary
How many students attend Donner Trail Elementary?
Donner Trail Elementary has 55 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Kingvale, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Donner Trail Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Donner Trail Elementary is 18.3:1, which is 15% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 17% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Donner Trail Elementary?
5.5% of students at Donner Trail Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Donner Trail Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Donner Trail Elementary is White at 94.5% of enrollment, in Kingvale, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Donner Trail Elementary?
Donner Trail Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (higher 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).
Is Donner Trail Elementary a good school?
Donner Trail Elementary earns 66/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools. 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 Tahoe-Truckee Unified?
Besides Donner Trail Elementary, Tahoe-Truckee Unified also operates Tahoe Truckee High (907 students), Alder Creek Middle (535 students), and Truckee Elementary (515 students). See the Tahoe-Truckee Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.