Enrollment
404
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 062037002453
El Morro Elementary — Laguna Beach, CA
Federal NCES profile for El Morro Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 28
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 19
📋 Attendance 32
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: Laguna Beach Unified · 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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How El Morro 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
El Morro Elementary reports 404 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% 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 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 65% below the California average and 63% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 404 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 27.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Laguna Beach Unified spends $29,407 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 86.1% from local sources (property taxes), 9.4% from the state, and 4.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), calculated from 4 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 El Morro 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 | 18.1:1 | ▼ 16% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.2% | ▼ 65% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 404 | top 40% | — | — |
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
19.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 65% 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
18.1:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 18% in California — lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
27.2%
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
$29,407
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 404 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 404 Top 40% in California — larger than 60% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 18.1:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.2% -65% vs state
NCES ID 062037002453
Student demographics
White 69.8%
Hispanic or Latino 12.9%
Two or More 9.7%
Asian 6.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 69.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 404:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 27.2%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Laguna Beach Unified, which includes El Morro Elementary.
$29,407
Per student
+63%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+51%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 86.1%
State 9.4%
Federal 4.6%
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
- 815
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 536
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Enrollment
- 524
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
Similar elementary schools in Laguna Beach
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 El Morro Elementary
How many students attend El Morro Elementary?
El Morro Elementary has 404 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Laguna Beach, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at El Morro Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at El Morro Elementary is 18.1:1, which is 16% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 14% 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 El Morro Elementary?
19.2% of students at El Morro Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of El Morro Elementary?
The largest demographic group at El Morro Elementary is White at 69.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Laguna Beach, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for El Morro Elementary?
El Morro Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) based on 4 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.