Enrollment
65
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060699000645
Grace Smith Elementary — Niland, CA
Federal NCES profile for Grace Smith Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 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: Calipatria 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)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
90.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Grace Smith 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
Grace Smith Elementary reports 65 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 5.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 31% 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 6% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 90.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 63% above the California average and 75% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 73.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Calipatria Unified spends $17,606 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.6% from local sources (property taxes), 55.8% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Grace Smith 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 | 15:1 | ▼ 31% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.7% | ▲ 63% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 65 | top 7% | — | — |
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
90.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 63% 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
15:1
students per teacher
— 31% below state mean
Top 9% in California — lower ratio than 91% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
73.8%
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
$17,606
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
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: 1.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 65 Top 7% in California — larger than 93% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 5.0
Students per teacher 15:1 -31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 90.7% +63% vs state
NCES ID 060699000645
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 80.0%
White 16.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.5%
Two or More 1.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 80.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 73.8%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Calipatria Unified, which includes Grace Smith Elementary.
$17,606
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.6%
State 55.8%
Federal 11.6%
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
- 348
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 345
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 322
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
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 Grace Smith Elementary
How many students attend Grace Smith Elementary?
Grace Smith Elementary has 65 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Niland, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Grace Smith Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Grace Smith Elementary is 15:1, which is 31% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 6% lower 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 Grace Smith Elementary?
90.7% of students at Grace Smith Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Grace Smith Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Grace Smith Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 80.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Niland, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Grace Smith Elementary?
Grace Smith Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.