Enrollment
384
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Empire, CA
Empire Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Empire Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 14/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061269001430
👥 S:T ratio 4
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Empire Elementary earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 71% of California schools.
- 14
- Resource Index · Lower
- 24:1
- large classes for California
- 78.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 384
- students enrolled
Empire Elementary has class sizes larger than 71% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Empire Union Elementary · California
NCES ID 061269001430 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
78.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Empire Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Empire Elementary
Empire Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Empire, California, enrolling 384 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 24:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 78.7% of students eligible for free meals.
With 384 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 93% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 1,803 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,572, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 27/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 384 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 77.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Empire Union Elementary also operates Norman N. Glick Middle (602 students) and Christine Sipherd Elementary (505 students) alongside Empire 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 Empire Elementary compares
Empire 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 | 24:1 | ▲ 12% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 78.7% | ▲ 42% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 384 | top 63% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
24:1
Leaner classes than 6% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
384
Bigger than 45% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
78.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 42% 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
24:1
students per teacher
- 12% above state mean
Top 71% in California - lower ratio than 29% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
77.3%
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
$15,755
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 384 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 84.6%
White 10.9%
Two or More 3.6%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 84.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 27.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 27.1, Empire Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Empire Union Elementary, which includes Empire Elementary.
$15,755
Per student
-5%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.3%
State 58.5%
Federal 11.2%
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 Empire Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman N. Glick Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Christine Sipherd Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Capistrano Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bernard L. Hughes Elementary | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Alice N. Stroud Elementary | Similar size | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Empire Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 602
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 12/100
- Enrollment
- 505
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Resource Index
- 7/100
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Resource Index
- 9/100
- Enrollment
- 455
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Resource Index
- 12/100
- Enrollment
- 379
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
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 (~384 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Empire Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Empire Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Empire Union Elementary'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 Empire Elementary
How many students attend Empire Elementary?
Empire Elementary has 384 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Empire, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Empire Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Empire Elementary is 24:1, which is 12% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 53% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Empire Elementary?
78.7% of students at Empire Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Empire Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Empire Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 84.6% of enrollment, in Empire, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Empire Elementary?
Empire Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 14/100 (lower 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 Empire Elementary a good school?
Empire Elementary earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 71% of 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 Empire Union Elementary?
Besides Empire Elementary, Empire Union Elementary also operates Norman N. Glick Middle (602 students), Christine Sipherd Elementary (505 students), and Capistrano Elementary (469 students). See the Empire Union Elementary 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.