Enrollment
845
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Nevada City, CA
Forest Charter
Federal NCES profile for Forest Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 069102311839Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 9
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 83
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Forest Charter earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- #4 of 10
- public schools in Nevada City · Resource Index
- 30
- Resource Index · Lower
- 22.8:1
- students per teacher
- 32.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Forest Charter has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Forest Charter ranks #4 of 10 public schools in Nevada City, CA.
School address
District: Nevada County Office of Education · California
NCES ID 069102311839 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Forest Charter compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Forest Charter
Forest Charter is a mid-sized charter combined-grade school in Nevada City, California, enrolling 845 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 22.8:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 32.8% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 845 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 1,102 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #588.
Its student body is led by White (78%) and Hispanic or Latino (12%) (diversity index 37/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 805 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 7.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Nevada County Office of Education spends $28,251 per pupil, 71% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Nevada City's public schools, it stands alongside Earle Jamieson Educational Options (5 students): Forest Charter is larger than that campus by headcount.
Nevada County Office of Education also operates Twin Ridges Home Study Charter (208 students) and Bitney Prep High (91 students) alongside Forest Charter.
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 Forest Charter compares
Forest Charter on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.8:1 | ▲ 6% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.8% | ▼ 41% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 845 | top 16% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
22.8:1
Leaner classes than 9% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
845
Bigger than 87% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
32.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 41% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.8:1
students per teacher
- 6% above state mean
Top 61% in California - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
7.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$28,251
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.1 FTE
Per 805 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.1 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 78.4%
Hispanic or Latino 12.4%
Two or More 6.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian 0.6%
African American 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 78.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 36.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 36.5, Forest Charter is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Nevada County Office of Education, which includes Forest Charter.
$28,251
Per student
+71%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+70%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.4%
State 57.2%
Federal 10.5%
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 Forest Charter Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Ridges Home Study Charter | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bitney Prep High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Nevada County Special Education | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Earle Jamieson Educational Options | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Forest Charter's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 208
- Students per teacher
- 23.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 91
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 51
- Students per teacher
- 6.4:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 5
- Students per teacher
- -
- Resource Index
- 30/100
Similar other schools in Nevada City
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other 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 (~845 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~22.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Forest Charter's federal record.
- Compare Forest Charter against another school. Compare schools
- Nevada County Office of Education'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 Forest Charter
How many students attend Forest Charter?
Forest Charter has 845 students enrolled. It is a public school in Nevada City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Forest Charter is 22.8:1, which is 6% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 45% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Forest Charter?
32.8% of students at Forest Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Forest Charter?
The largest demographic group at Forest Charter is White at 78.4% of enrollment, in Nevada City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Forest Charter?
Forest Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Forest Charter rank among public schools in Nevada City?
By Resource Investment Index, Forest Charter ranks #4 of 10 public schools in Nevada City, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Nevada City on the city page.
Is Forest Charter a good school?
Forest Charter earns 30/100 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 Nevada County Office of Education?
Besides Forest Charter, Nevada County Office of Education also operates Twin Ridges Home Study Charter (208 students), Bitney Prep High (91 students), and Nevada County Special Education (51 students). See the Nevada County Office of Education 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.