Enrollment
65
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Niland, CA
Grace Smith Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Grace Smith Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060699000645
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Grace Smith Elementary earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools.
- 26
- Resource Index · Lower
- 13:1
- small classes for California
- 90.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 65
- students enrolled
Grace Smith Elementary has class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Calipatria Unified · California
NCES ID 060699000645 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-40% 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
What stands out at Grace Smith Elementary
Grace Smith Elementary is a high-poverty, small elementary school in Niland, California, enrolling 65 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 13:1, Grace Smith Elementary is leaner than roughly 92% of California schools and 40% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 90.7% of students qualify for free meals, 63% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of California schools, with 65 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 148 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #122, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (80% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 73.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Calipatria Unified also operates Fremont Primary (348 students) and Calipatria High (345 students) alongside Grace Smith Elementary.
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 Grace Smith Elementary compares
Grace Smith 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 | 13:1 | ▼ 40% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.7% | ▲ 63% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 65 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
65
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
90.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 63% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 8% in California - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
73.8%
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
$16,642
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: 1.5 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
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.
Student-body diversity index 33.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.1, Grace Smith Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Calipatria Unified, which includes Grace Smith Elementary.
$16,642
Per student
+1%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+0%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
How Grace Smith Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fremont Primary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Calipatria High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bill E. Young Jr. Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Grace Smith Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 348
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Resource Index
- 16/100
- Enrollment
- 345
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 322
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
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 (~65 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Grace Smith Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Grace Smith Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Calipatria 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 Grace Smith Elementary
How many students attend Grace Smith Elementary?
Grace Smith Elementary has 65 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Niland, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Grace Smith Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Grace Smith Elementary is 13:1, which is 40% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 17% lower 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 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% of enrollment, in Niland, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Grace Smith Elementary?
Grace Smith Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Grace Smith Elementary a good school?
Grace Smith Elementary earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 92% of California schools. 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 Calipatria Unified?
Besides Grace Smith Elementary, Calipatria Unified also operates Fremont Primary (348 students), Calipatria High (345 students), and Bill E. Young Jr. Middle (322 students). See the Calipatria 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.