Enrollment
436
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060524000495
Golden Sierra Junior Senior High — Garden Valley, CA
Federal NCES profile for Golden Sierra Junior Senior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 56
📋 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: Black Oak Mine 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)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Golden Sierra Junior Senior High 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
Golden Sierra Junior Senior High reports 436 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 26.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 42% below the California average and 38% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 218 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 48.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Black Oak Mine Unified spends $15,308 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 45.5% from local sources (property taxes), 41.0% from the state, and 13.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Golden Sierra Junior Senior High 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 | 18.8:1 | ▼ 13% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.0% | ▼ 42% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 436 | top 45% | — | — |
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
32.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 42% 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
18.8:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 21% in California — lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
48.2%
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
$15,308
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 218 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 37 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 436 Top 45% in California — larger than 55% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 26.0
Students per teacher 18.8:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.0% -42% vs state
NCES ID 060524000495
Student demographics
White 75.0%
Hispanic or Latino 14.9%
Two or More 6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.3%
Asian 1.4%
African American 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 75.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 218:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 48.2%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 37
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Black Oak Mine Unified, which includes Golden Sierra Junior Senior High.
$15,308
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 45.5%
State 41.0%
Federal 13.5%
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
- 283
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Enrollment
- 263
- Students per teacher
- 28.5:1
- Enrollment
- 229
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 15
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 9
- 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 Golden Sierra Junior Senior High
How many students attend Golden Sierra Junior Senior High?
Golden Sierra Junior Senior High has 436 students enrolled. It is a other school in Garden Valley, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Golden Sierra Junior Senior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Golden Sierra Junior Senior High is 18.8:1, which is 13% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 18% 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 Golden Sierra Junior Senior High?
32.0% of students at Golden Sierra Junior Senior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Golden Sierra Junior Senior High?
The largest demographic group at Golden Sierra Junior Senior High is White at 75.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Garden Valley, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Golden Sierra Junior Senior High?
Golden Sierra Junior Senior High has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.