Enrollment
231
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060142001617
Fortuna Middle — Fortuna, CA
Federal NCES profile for Fortuna Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 25
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Fortuna Elementary · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
70.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fortuna Middle compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Fortuna Middle reports 231 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 15.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 70.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 28% above the California average and 37% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 231 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fortuna Elementary spends $16,506 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.4% from local sources (property taxes), 59.3% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Fortuna Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▼ 27% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 70.9% | ▲ 28% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 231 | top 20% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
70.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 28% 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
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 27% below state mean
Top 10% in California — lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,506
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 231 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 39 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 231 Top 20% in California — larger than 80% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 15.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 -27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 70.9% +28% vs state
NCES ID 060142001617
Student demographics
White 42.4%
Hispanic or Latino 40.7%
Two or More 8.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 6.1%
African American 1.7%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 42.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 231:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 39
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fortuna Elementary, which includes Fortuna Middle.
$16,506
Per student
-8%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.4%
State 59.3%
Federal 15.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 282
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Enrollment
- 256
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Enrollment
- 233
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Fortuna Middle
How many students attend Fortuna Middle?
Fortuna Middle has 231 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Fortuna, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fortuna Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Fortuna Middle is 15.8:1, which is 27% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Fortuna Middle?
70.9% of students at Fortuna Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fortuna Middle?
The largest demographic group at Fortuna Middle is White at 42.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Fortuna, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fortuna Middle?
Fortuna Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.