Enrollment
358
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060142106108
Grace Thille Elementary — Santa Paula, CA
Federal NCES profile for Grace Thille Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 28/100.
👥 Class size 4
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 8
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: Santa Paula 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)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
83.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Grace Thille 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 Thille Elementary reports 358 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 50% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 83.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 51% above the California average and 62% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 358 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 36.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Santa Paula Unified spends $19,346 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.4% from local sources (property taxes), 68.9% from the state, and 10.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (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 Grace Thille 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 | 23.9:1 | ▲ 11% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 83.9% | ▲ 51% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 358 | top 33% | — | — |
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
83.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 51% 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
23.9:1
students per teacher
— 11% above state mean
Top 71% in California — lower ratio than 29% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
36.6%
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
$19,346
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 358 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 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.
Overview
Enrollment 358 Top 33% in California — larger than 67% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 23.9:1 +11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 83.9% +51% vs state
NCES ID 060142106108
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 95.5%
White 3.9%
African American 0.3%
Two or More 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 95.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 358:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 36.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Paula Unified, which includes Grace Thille Elementary.
$19,346
Per student
+7%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.4%
State 68.9%
Federal 10.7%
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
- 1,494
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 675
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 634
- Students per teacher
- 21.5:1
- Enrollment
- 325
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 317
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
Similar elementary schools in Santa Paula
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Glen City Elementary
Standard public school
675 students 22.4:1 students per teacher
Barbara Webster Elementary
Standard public school
325 students 18.7:1 students per teacher
Blanchard Elementary
Standard public school
317 students 19.5:1 students per teacher
Mckevett Elementary
Standard public school
300 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
Thelma Bedell Elementary
Standard public school
294 students 20.6:1 students per teacher
Olivelands Elementary
Standard public school
236 students 22.4:1 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 Grace Thille Elementary
How many students attend Grace Thille Elementary?
Grace Thille Elementary has 358 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Santa Paula, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Grace Thille Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Grace Thille Elementary is 23.9:1, which is 11% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 50% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Grace Thille Elementary?
83.9% of students at Grace Thille Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Grace Thille Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Grace Thille Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 95.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Paula, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Grace Thille Elementary?
Grace Thille Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.