Enrollment
26
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Downieville, CA
Downieville Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Downieville Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063678006226
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 71
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Downieville Elementary earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13:1
- small classes for California
- 59.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 26
- students enrolled
Downieville Elementary has class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified · California
NCES ID 063678006226 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
+6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Downieville Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Downieville Elementary
Downieville Elementary is a higher-need, small elementary school in Downieville, California, enrolling 26 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 13:1, Downieville Elementary is leaner than roughly 92% of California schools and 40% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 59.1% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 96% of California schools, with 26 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 92% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 98 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #30.
Its student body is led by White (46%) and Hispanic or Latino (35%) (diversity index 63/100).
11.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified also operates Loyalton Elementary (199 students) and Loyalton High (165 students) alongside Downieville 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 Downieville Elementary compares
Downieville 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 | 13:1 | ▼ 40% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.1% | ▲ 6% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 26 | top 96% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
26
Bigger than 3% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
59.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 6% 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
13:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 8% in California - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
11.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$16,701
per pupil, district-wide
- above 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 + 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 46.2%
Hispanic or Latino 34.6%
Two or More 19.2%
Largest group: White at 46.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 63.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 63.0, Downieville Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified, which includes Downieville Elementary.
$16,701
Per student
+1%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.5%
State 52.2%
Federal 9.3%
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 Downieville Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalton Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Loyalton High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Downieville Junior-Senior High | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sierra Pass (Continuation) | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Downieville Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 199
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 165
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 19
- Students per teacher
- 9.5:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 5
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 30/100
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 (~26 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Downieville Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Downieville Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Sierra-Plumas Joint 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 Downieville Elementary
How many students attend Downieville Elementary?
Downieville Elementary has 26 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Downieville, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Downieville Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Downieville Elementary is 13:1, which is 40% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 17% lower 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 Downieville Elementary?
59.1% of students at Downieville Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Downieville Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Downieville Elementary is White at 46.2% of enrollment, in Downieville, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 63.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Downieville Elementary?
Downieville Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher 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).
Is Downieville Elementary a good school?
Downieville Elementary earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified?
Besides Downieville Elementary, Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified also operates Loyalton Elementary (199 students), Loyalton High (165 students), and Downieville Junior-Senior High (19 students). See the Sierra-Plumas Joint 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.