Enrollment
712
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Gold River, CA
Gold River Discovery Center K-8
Federal NCES profile for Gold River Discovery Center K-8, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063462002560
👥 S:T ratio 5
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 52
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- 22
- Resource Index · Lower
- 23.7:1
- students per teacher
- 25.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 712
- students enrolled
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: San Juan Unified · California
NCES ID 063462002560 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.7:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Gold River Discovery Center K-8 compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Gold River Discovery Center K-8
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 is a mid-sized elementary school in Gold River, California, enrolling 712 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 23.7:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 25.2% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 712 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 1,285 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,100, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (58%) and Hispanic or Latino (19%) (diversity index 61/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 712 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
San Juan Unified also operates Bella Vista High (1,939 students) and Rio Americano High (1,891 students) alongside Gold River Discovery Center K-8.
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 Gold River Discovery Center K-8 compares
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.7:1 | ▲ 10% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.2% | ▼ 55% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 712 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
23.7:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
712
Bigger than 81% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
25.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 55% 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
23.7:1
students per teacher
- 10% above state mean
Top 69% in California - lower ratio than 31% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
19.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$15,338
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 712 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 19 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.8 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 58.1%
Hispanic or Latino 19.0%
Two or More 11.5%
Asian 7.9%
African American 2.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Largest group: White at 58.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 60.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 60.6, Gold River Discovery Center K-8 is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Juan Unified, which includes Gold River Discovery Center K-8.
$15,338
Per student
-7%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 31.7%
State 54.0%
Federal 14.3%
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.
How Gold River Discovery Center K-8 Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bella Vista High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rio Americano High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mira Loma High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Del Campo High | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| El Camino Fundamental High | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Gold River Discovery Center K-8's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,939
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 1,891
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 1,655
- Students per teacher
- 23.6:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 1,548
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 1,226
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
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 (~712 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Gold River Discovery Center K-8's federal record.
- Compare Gold River Discovery Center K-8 against another school. Compare schools
- San Juan Unified'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 Gold River Discovery Center K-8
How many students attend Gold River Discovery Center K-8?
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 has 712 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Gold River, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gold River Discovery Center K-8?
The student-teacher ratio at Gold River Discovery Center K-8 is 23.7:1, which is 10% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 51% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Gold River Discovery Center K-8?
25.2% of students at Gold River Discovery Center K-8 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gold River Discovery Center K-8?
The largest demographic group at Gold River Discovery Center K-8 is White at 58.1% of enrollment, in Gold River, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Gold River Discovery Center K-8?
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (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).
Is Gold River Discovery Center K-8 a good school?
Gold River Discovery Center K-8 earns 22/100 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 San Juan Unified?
Besides Gold River Discovery Center K-8, San Juan Unified also operates Bella Vista High (1,939 students), Rio Americano High (1,891 students), and Mira Loma High (1,655 students). See the San Juan Unified 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.