Elementary school (grades K-5) · Vista, CA

Foothill Oak Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Foothill Oak Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 8/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 064119011400
0/100100/1008/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Foothill Oak Elementary earns 8/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#12 of 15
elementary schools in Vista · Resource Index
8
Resource Index · Lower
29.3:1
large classes for California
79.6%
free-lunch eligible

Foothill Oak Elementary has class sizes larger than 95% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Foothill Oak Elementary ranks #12 of 15 elementary schools in Vista, CA.

School address

Enrollment

556

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

19.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

29.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+36% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

79.6%

vs 55.5% California avg

+43% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Foothill Oak Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 Foothill Oak Elementary

Foothill Oak Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Vista, California, enrolling 556 students.

Class loads run heavy: 29.3:1 is larger than about 95% of California schools and 36% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 79.6% of students eligible for free meals.

With 556 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 100% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 2,141 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #2,104, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (91% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 17/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 556 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Vista's elementary schools, it stands alongside Casita Center for Science/Math/Technology (744 students): Foothill Oak Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (29.3:1 vs 29.8:1).

Vista Unified also operates Rancho Buena Vista High (1,949 students) and Vista High (1,746 students) alongside Foothill Oak 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 Oak Elementary compares

Foothill Oak 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 29.3:1 ▲ 36% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 79.6% ▲ 43% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 556 top 37% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

29.3:1
Leaner classes than 2% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
556
Bigger than 68% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
79.6%
free-lunch eligible - 43% 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
29.3:1
students per teacher - 36% 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
43.2%
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
$15,274
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 556 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.3 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 91.2%
White 4.3%
Two or More 2.2%
Asian 1.1%
African American 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 91.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 16.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 16.6, Foothill Oak Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Vista Unified, which includes Foothill Oak Elementary.

$15,274
Per student
-7%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 36.1%
State 53.6%
Federal 10.3%

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 Oak Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Rancho Buena Vista High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Vista High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Mission Vista High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Madison Middle Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Roosevelt Middle Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Vista Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Vista

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 Foothill Oak 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 Foothill Oak Elementary

How many students attend Foothill Oak Elementary?

Foothill Oak Elementary has 556 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Vista, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Foothill Oak Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Foothill Oak Elementary is 29.3:1, which is 36% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 87% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Foothill Oak Elementary?

79.6% of students at Foothill Oak Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Foothill Oak Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Foothill Oak Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 91.2% of enrollment, in Vista, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Foothill Oak Elementary?

Foothill Oak Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 8/100 (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 Foothill Oak Elementary rank among elementary schools in Vista?

By Resource Investment Index, Foothill Oak Elementary ranks #12 of 15 elementary schools in Vista, 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 Vista on the city page.

Is Foothill Oak Elementary a good school?

Foothill Oak Elementary earns 8/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 95% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Vista Unified?

Besides Foothill Oak Elementary, Vista Unified also operates Rancho Buena Vista High (1,949 students), Vista High (1,746 students), and Mission Vista High (1,670 students). See the Vista 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.