Enrollment
169
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bakersfield, CA
General Shafter Elementary
Federal NCES profile for General Shafter Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 21/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061500001903
👥 S:T ratio 32
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
General Shafter Elementary earns 21/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 84% of California schools.
- #84 of 97
- elementary schools in Bakersfield · Resource Index
- 21
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16.9:1
- small classes for California
- 59.8%
- free-lunch eligible
General Shafter Elementary has class sizes smaller than 84% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, General Shafter Elementary ranks #84 of 97 elementary schools in Bakersfield, CA.
School address
District: General Shafter Elementary · California
NCES ID 061500001903 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.9:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How General Shafter Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at General Shafter Elementary
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
General Shafter Elementary sits near the smaller end of the California enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
The composite reveals a resource-side weakness
General Shafter Elementary's free-meal eligibility sits closer to the broad California middle than to an extreme, but its Resource Investment Index falls near the lower end of scored schools. That makes the composite itself the notable signal rather than student need. Inspecting the underlying factors matters here: a low score can result from thin counselor coverage, limited gifted access, attendance pressure, or heavier classroom staffing, and those are different operational problems.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
General Shafter Elementary's 52.1% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
General Shafter Elementary is a higher-need, small elementary school in Bakersfield, California, enrolling 169 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 16.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 59.8% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 169 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 439 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #359, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (72%) and White (27%) (diversity index 41/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 52.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Bakersfield's elementary schools, it stands alongside Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8 (1,151 students): General Shafter Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.9:1 vs 25.6:1).
General Shafter Elementary operates only this one school, so General Shafter Elementary has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 General Shafter Elementary compares
General Shafter 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 | 16.9:1 | ▼ 21% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.8% | ▲ 8% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 169 | top 85% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.9:1
Leaner classes than 31% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
169
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
59.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 8% 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
16.9:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 16% in California - lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
52.1%
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
$17,205
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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: 0.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 72.2%
White 26.6%
African American 0.6%
Two or More 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 72.2% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 40.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 40.8, General Shafter Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for General Shafter Elementary, which includes General Shafter Elementary.
$17,205
Per student
+4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 83.2%
State 12.6%
Federal 4.2%
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.
Similar elementary schools in Bakersfield
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Dolores S. Whitley Tk-8
Standard public school
1,151 students 25.6:1 students per teacher
Veterans Elementary
Standard public school
1,002 students 27.8:1 students per teacher
Douglas J. Miller Elementary
Standard public school
994 students 29.2:1 students per teacher
Colonel Howard Nichols Elementary
Standard public school
960 students 24:1 students per teacher
Berkshire Elementary
Standard public school
932 students 28.2:1 students per teacher
Patriot Elementary
Standard public school
931 students 23.3:1 students per teacher
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.
Similar enrollment (~169 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on General Shafter Elementary's federal record.
- Compare General Shafter Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- General Shafter Elementary'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 General Shafter Elementary
How many students attend General Shafter Elementary?
General Shafter Elementary has 169 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Bakersfield, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at General Shafter Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at General Shafter Elementary is 16.9:1, which is 21% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 8% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at General Shafter Elementary?
59.8% of students at General Shafter Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of General Shafter Elementary?
The largest demographic group at General Shafter Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 72.2% of enrollment, in Bakersfield, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for General Shafter Elementary?
General Shafter Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 21/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does General Shafter Elementary rank among elementary schools in Bakersfield?
By Resource Investment Index, General Shafter Elementary ranks #84 of 97 elementary schools in Bakersfield, 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 Bakersfield on the city page.
What other schools are in General Shafter Elementary?
None reported; General Shafter Elementary operates only General Shafter Elementary as a public school district in NCES's records.
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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.