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

Frank Paul Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Frank Paul Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 14/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060195007639
0/100100/10014/100
👥 S:T ratio
6
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
19
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Frank Paul Elementary earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#17 of 39
elementary schools in Salinas · Resource Index
14
Resource Index · Lower
23.6:1
students per teacher
80.1%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Frank Paul Elementary ranks #17 of 39 elementary schools in Salinas, CA.

School address

Enrollment

638

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

27.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

23.6:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+10% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

80.1%

vs 55.5% California avg

+44% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Frank Paul 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 Frank Paul Elementary

Frank Paul Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Salinas, California, enrolling 638 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 23.6:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 80.1% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 638 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 93% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 2,009 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,672, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 5/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 638 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Salinas's elementary schools, it stands alongside Sherwood Elementary (859 students): Frank Paul Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (23.6:1 vs 22:1).

Alisal Union also operates Monte Bella Elementary (812 students) and Fremont Elementary (711 students) alongside Frank Paul 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 Frank Paul Elementary compares

Frank Paul 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 23.6:1 ▲ 10% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 80.1% ▲ 44% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 638 top 28% - -

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

23.6:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
638
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
80.1%
free-lunch eligible - 44% 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
23.6:1
students per teacher - 10% above state mean
Top 68% in California - lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
32.3%
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
$15,875
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 638 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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

Hispanic or Latino 97.5%
White 0.8%
Asian 0.8%
Two or More 0.6%
African American 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 4.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 4.9, Frank Paul Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alisal Union, which includes Frank Paul Elementary.

$15,875
Per student
-4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 17.0%
State 69.9%
Federal 13.1%

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 Frank Paul Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Monte Bella Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Fremont Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Cesar E. Chavez Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Alisal Community Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Alisal Union · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Salinas

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 Frank Paul 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 Frank Paul Elementary

How many students attend Frank Paul Elementary?

Frank Paul Elementary has 638 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Salinas, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Frank Paul Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Frank Paul Elementary is 23.6:1, which is 10% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 50% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Frank Paul Elementary?

80.1% of students at Frank Paul Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Frank Paul Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Frank Paul Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 97.5% of enrollment, in Salinas, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Frank Paul Elementary?

Frank Paul Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 14/100 (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 Frank Paul Elementary rank among elementary schools in Salinas?

By Resource Investment Index, Frank Paul Elementary ranks #17 of 39 elementary schools in Salinas, 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 Salinas on the city page.

Is Frank Paul Elementary a good school?

Frank Paul Elementary earns 14/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Alisal Union?

Besides Frank Paul Elementary, Alisal Union also operates Monte Bella Elementary (812 students), Fremont Elementary (711 students), and Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary (646 students). See the Alisal Union 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.