Enrollment
996
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Rancho Mission Viejo, CA
Esencia
Federal NCES profile for Esencia, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060744014361
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 57
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Esencia earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of California schools.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 28.5:1
- large classes for California
- 9.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 996
- students enrolled
Esencia has class sizes larger than 94% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Capistrano Unified · California
NCES ID 060744014361 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
28.5:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
9.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-82% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Esencia compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Esencia
Esencia is a lower-poverty, large elementary school in Rancho Mission Viejo, California, enrolling 996 students.
Class loads run heavy: 28.5:1 is larger than about 94% of California schools and 33% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 9.9% free-meal eligibility runs 82% below the California average.
Enrollment of 996 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 475 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #318.
Its student body is led by White (56%) and Two or More (16%) (diversity index 62/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 996 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
17.1% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Capistrano Unified also operates San Clemente High (2,740 students) and San Juan Hills High (2,641 students) alongside Esencia.
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 Esencia compares
Esencia on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 28.5:1 | ▲ 33% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 9.9% | ▼ 82% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 996 | top 11% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
28.5:1
Leaner classes than 2% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
996
Bigger than 91% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
9.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 82% 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
28.5:1
students per teacher
- 33% above state mean
Top 94% in California - lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
17.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$14,421
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 996 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 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
White 56.3%
Two or More 15.7%
Hispanic or Latino 14.5%
Asian 13.1%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 56.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 62.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 62.0, Esencia is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Capistrano Unified, which includes Esencia.
$14,421
Per student
-13%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 61.2%
State 31.0%
Federal 7.7%
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 Esencia Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Clemente High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| San Juan Hills High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Aliso Niguel High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Tesoro High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Capistrano Valley High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Esencia's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,740
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 2,641
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 2,563
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 2,030
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 1,991
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
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 (~996 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Esencia's federal record.
- Compare Esencia against another school. Compare schools
- Capistrano 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 Esencia
How many students attend Esencia?
Esencia has 996 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Rancho Mission Viejo, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Esencia?
The student-teacher ratio at Esencia is 28.5:1, which is 33% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 82% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Esencia?
9.9% of students at Esencia are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Esencia?
The largest demographic group at Esencia is White at 56.3% of enrollment, in Rancho Mission Viejo, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.0/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Esencia?
Esencia has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical 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 Esencia a good school?
Esencia earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% 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 Capistrano Unified?
Besides Esencia, Capistrano Unified also operates San Clemente High (2,740 students), San Juan Hills High (2,641 students), and Aliso Niguel High (2,563 students). See the Capistrano 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.