Enrollment
349
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Rancho Mission Viejo, CA
Esencia Middle
Federal NCES profile for Esencia Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 060744014392
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 30
📋 Attendance 74
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Esencia Middle earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of California schools.
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 29.1:1
- large classes for California
- 15.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 349
- students enrolled
Esencia Middle has class sizes larger than 95% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Capistrano Unified · California
NCES ID 060744014392 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
29.1:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+35% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
-72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Esencia Middle compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Esencia Middle
Esencia Middle is a lower-poverty, mid-sized middle school in Rancho Mission Viejo, California, enrolling 349 students.
Class loads run heavy: 29.1:1 is larger than about 95% of California schools and 35% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 15.7% free-meal eligibility runs 72% below the California average.
Enrollment of 349 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 666 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #117.
Its student body is led by White (55%) and Hispanic or Latino (16%) (diversity index 64/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 349 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
10.3% 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 Middle.
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 Middle compares
Esencia Middle on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 29.1:1 | ▲ 35% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.7% | ▼ 72% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 349 | top 68% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
29.1:1
Leaner classes than 2% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
349
Bigger than 40% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
15.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 72% 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
29.1:1
students per teacher
- 35% above state mean
Top 95% in California - lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
10.3%
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
$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 349 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 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 55.0%
Hispanic or Latino 16.0%
Asian 16.0%
Two or More 10.6%
African American 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Largest group: White at 55.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 63.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 63.5, Esencia Middle 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 Middle.
$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 Middle 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 | Similar 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 Middle'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 middle 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 (~349 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~29.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Esencia Middle's federal record.
- Compare Esencia Middle 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 Middle
How many students attend Esencia Middle?
Esencia Middle has 349 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Rancho Mission Viejo, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Esencia Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Esencia Middle is 29.1:1, which is 35% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 85% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Esencia Middle?
15.7% of students at Esencia Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Esencia Middle?
The largest demographic group at Esencia Middle is White at 55.0% 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 63.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Esencia Middle?
Esencia Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Middle a good school?
Esencia Middle earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% 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 Middle, 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.