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

Elbow Creek Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Elbow Creek Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 17/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 064116006789
0/100100/10017/100
👥 S:T ratio
6
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
13
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Elbow Creek Elementary earns 17/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#11 of 31
elementary schools in Visalia · Resource Index
17
Resource Index · Lower
23.4:1
students per teacher
64.0%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Elbow Creek Elementary ranks #11 of 31 elementary schools in Visalia, CA.

School address

Enrollment

514

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

23.4:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+9% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

64.0%

vs 55.5% California avg

+15% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Elbow Creek 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 Elbow Creek Elementary

Elbow Creek Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Visalia, California, enrolling 514 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 23.4:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 64.0% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 514 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.

Among 2,000 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,517, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (75%) and White (20%) (diversity index 40/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Visalia's elementary schools, it stands alongside Riverway Elementary (857 students): Elbow Creek Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (23.4:1 vs 27.6:1).

Visalia Unified also operates Redwood High (2,490 students) and Golden West High (2,059 students) alongside Elbow Creek 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 Elbow Creek Elementary compares

Elbow Creek 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 23.4:1 ▲ 9% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 64.0% ▲ 15% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 514 top 43% - -

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

23.4:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
514
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
64.0%
free-lunch eligible - 15% 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
23.4:1
students per teacher - 9% above state mean
Top 66% in California - lower ratio than 34% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
34.6%
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
$14,150
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 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

Hispanic or Latino 75.0%
White 20.1%
Two or More 2.9%
Asian 1.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 39.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 39.6, Elbow Creek Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Visalia Unified, which includes Elbow Creek Elementary.

$14,150
Per student
-14%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.1%
State 69.0%
Federal 12.9%

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.

How Elbow Creek Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Redwood High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Golden West High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
El Diamante High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Mt. Whitney High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Ridgeview Middle Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Visalia Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Visalia

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 Elbow Creek 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 Elbow Creek Elementary

How many students attend Elbow Creek Elementary?

Elbow Creek Elementary has 514 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Visalia, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Elbow Creek Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Elbow Creek Elementary is 23.4:1, which is 9% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 49% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Elbow Creek Elementary?

64.0% of students at Elbow Creek Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Elbow Creek Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Elbow Creek Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment, in Visalia, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Elbow Creek Elementary?

Elbow Creek Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 17/100 (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 Elbow Creek Elementary rank among elementary schools in Visalia?

By Resource Investment Index, Elbow Creek Elementary ranks #11 of 31 elementary schools in Visalia, 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 Visalia on the city page.

Is Elbow Creek Elementary a good school?

Elbow Creek Elementary earns 17/100 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 Visalia Unified?

Besides Elbow Creek Elementary, Visalia Unified also operates Redwood High (2,490 students), Golden West High (2,059 students), and El Diamante High (1,890 students). See the Visalia 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.

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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.