Enrollment
176
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063441005613
Garfield Elementary — San Francisco, CA
Federal NCES profile for Garfield Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 16/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
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: San Francisco Unified · 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)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
47.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Garfield Elementary 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
Garfield Elementary reports 176 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 12.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% 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 2% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 47.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% below the California average and 8% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 4400 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding San Francisco Unified spends $27,074 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 56.8% from local sources (property taxes), 31.2% from the state, and 12.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 16/100 (F), 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 Garfield Elementary 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 | 16.2:1 | ▼ 25% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 47.9% | ▼ 14% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 176 | top 16% | — | — |
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
47.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% 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
16.2:1
students per teacher
— 25% below state mean
Top 11% in California — lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
42.6%
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
$27,074
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Per 4400 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 176 Top 16% in California — larger than 84% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 12.0
Students per teacher 16.2:1 -25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 47.9% -14% vs state
NCES ID 063441005613
Student demographics
Asian 42.6%
Hispanic or Latino 21.6%
Two or More 20.5%
African American 8.5%
White 6.8%
Largest group: Asian at 42.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Students per counselor 4400:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Francisco Unified, which includes Garfield Elementary.
$27,074
Per student
+50%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+39%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 56.8%
State 31.2%
Federal 12.0%
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
- 2,571
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,074
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 2,068
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,750
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,238
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
Similar elementary schools in San Francisco
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Lilienthal (Claire) Elementary
Standard public school
673 students 23.1:1 students per teacher
Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary
Standard public school
653 students 23:1 students per teacher
Lawton Alternative
Standard public school
600 students 20.6:1 students per teacher
Yu (Alice Fong) Elementary
Standard public school
594 students 29.3:1 students per teacher
West Portal Elementary
Standard public school
588 students 26.5:1 students per teacher
Buena Vista/ Horace Mann K-8
Standard public school
586 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
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 Garfield Elementary
How many students attend Garfield Elementary?
Garfield Elementary has 176 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in San Francisco, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Garfield Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Garfield Elementary is 16.2:1, which is 25% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 2% higher 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 Garfield Elementary?
47.9% of students at Garfield Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Garfield Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Garfield Elementary is Asian at 42.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Francisco, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Garfield Elementary?
Garfield Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 16/100 (F) 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.