Enrollment
609
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Prather, CA
Foothill Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Foothill Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063680512884
👥 S:T ratio 13
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Foothill Elementary earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- 28
- Resource Index · Lower
- 21.8:1
- students per teacher
- 44.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 609
- students enrolled
Foothill Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Sierra Unified · California
NCES ID 063680512884 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Foothill Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Foothill Elementary
Foothill Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Prather, California, enrolling 609 students.
At 21.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 44.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 609 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 1,404 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #651.
Its student body is led by White (54%) and Hispanic or Latino (23%) (diversity index 63/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 51.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Sierra Unified also operates Sierra High (367 students) and Sierra Junior High (184 students) alongside Foothill 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 Foothill Elementary compares
Foothill 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 | 21.8:1 | ▲ 1% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.1% | ▼ 21% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 609 | top 31% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
21.8:1
Leaner classes than 11% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
609
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
44.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 21% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21.8:1
students per teacher
- 1% above state mean
Top 51% in California - lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
51.7%
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
$16,775
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
25
in-school suspensions + 28 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.7 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 53.9%
Hispanic or Latino 22.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 14.3%
Two or More 7.4%
Asian 1.1%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 53.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 63.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 63.1, Foothill Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sierra Unified, which includes Foothill Elementary.
$16,775
Per student
+2%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 46.6%
State 44.9%
Federal 8.6%
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 Foothill Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra High | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sierra Junior High | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sierra@Home | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sierra Alternative High | Smaller | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Foothill Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 367
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 184
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 81
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 10
- Students per teacher
- 5:1
- Resource Index
- 75/100
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 (~609 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~21.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Foothill Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Foothill Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Sierra 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 Foothill Elementary
How many students attend Foothill Elementary?
Foothill Elementary has 609 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Prather, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Foothill Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Foothill Elementary is 21.8:1, which is 1% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 39% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Foothill Elementary?
44.1% of students at Foothill Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Foothill Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Foothill Elementary is White at 53.9% of enrollment, in Prather, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 63.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Foothill Elementary?
Foothill Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (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).
Is Foothill Elementary a good school?
Foothill Elementary earns 28/100 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 Sierra Unified?
Besides Foothill Elementary, Sierra Unified also operates Sierra High (367 students), Sierra Junior High (184 students), and Sierra@Home (81 students). See the Sierra 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.