Elementary school (grades K-5) · Santa Ana, CA

Fairhaven Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Fairhaven Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062865004428
0/100100/10023/100
👥 S:T ratio
6
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
16
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Fairhaven Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#46 of 51
elementary schools in Santa Ana · Resource Index
23
Resource Index · Lower
23.4:1
students per teacher
58.4%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Fairhaven Elementary ranks #46 of 51 elementary schools in Santa Ana, CA.

School address

Enrollment

421

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

18.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

23.4:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+9% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

58.4%

vs 55.5% California avg

+5% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Fairhaven 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 Fairhaven Elementary

Fairhaven Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Santa Ana, California, enrolling 421 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 58.4% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 421 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.

Against 1,620 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #979.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 421 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 56.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Santa Ana's elementary schools, it stands alongside Mcfadden Institute of Technology (1,074 students): Fairhaven Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (23.4:1 vs 20.3:1).

Orange Unified also operates Canyon High (2,183 students) and Villa Park High (2,023 students) alongside Fairhaven 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 Fairhaven Elementary compares

Fairhaven 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 58.4% ▲ 5% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 421 top 57% - -

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.
421
Bigger than 51% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
58.4%
free-lunch eligible - 5% 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
56.5%
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
$14,036
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 421 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.2 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 88.1%
White 5.0%
Two or More 3.6%
Asian 1.9%
African American 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 22.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 22.0, Fairhaven Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orange Unified, which includes Fairhaven Elementary.

$14,036
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 53.9%
State 35.0%
Federal 11.0%

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 Fairhaven Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Canyon High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Villa Park High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
El Modena High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Orange High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
El Rancho Charter Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Orange Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Santa Ana

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 Fairhaven 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 Fairhaven Elementary

How many students attend Fairhaven Elementary?

Fairhaven Elementary has 421 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Santa Ana, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Fairhaven Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Fairhaven 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 Fairhaven Elementary?

58.4% of students at Fairhaven Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fairhaven Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Fairhaven Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 88.1% of enrollment, in Santa Ana, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Fairhaven Elementary?

Fairhaven Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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).

How does Fairhaven Elementary rank among elementary schools in Santa Ana?

By Resource Investment Index, Fairhaven Elementary ranks #46 of 51 elementary schools in Santa Ana, 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 Santa Ana on the city page.

Is Fairhaven Elementary a good school?

Fairhaven Elementary earns 23/100 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 Orange Unified?

Besides Fairhaven Elementary, Orange Unified also operates Canyon High (2,183 students), Villa Park High (2,023 students), and El Modena High (1,795 students). See the Orange 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.