Enrollment
32
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Salinas, CA
Graves Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Graves Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 37/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061587002002
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Graves Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- #3 of 39
- elementary schools in Salinas · Resource Index
- 37
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16:1
- small classes for California
- 22.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Graves Elementary has class sizes smaller than 87% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Graves Elementary ranks #3 of 39 elementary schools in Salinas, CA.
School address
District: Graves Elementary · California
NCES ID 061587002002 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
-59% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Graves Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Graves Elementary
Graves Elementary is a small elementary school in Salinas, California, enrolling 32 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 16:1, Graves Elementary is leaner than roughly 87% of California schools and 26% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 22.6% free-meal eligibility runs 59% below the California average.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 96% of California schools, with 32 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 41 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #24.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Among Salinas's elementary schools, it stands alongside Sherwood Elementary (859 students): Graves Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16:1 vs 22:1).
Graves Elementary operates only this one school, so Graves Elementary has no district-mates to compare against locally. At 32 students, it is also a small operation, on the smaller end of California's single-school districts.
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 Graves Elementary compares
Graves 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 | 16:1 | ▼ 26% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.6% | ▼ 59% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 32 | top 96% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16:1
Leaner classes than 38% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
32
Bigger than 4% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
22.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 59% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
- 26% below state mean
Top 13% in California - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
21.9%
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
$14,800
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 87.5%
White 6.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.1%
Two or More 3.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.8, Graves Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Graves Elementary, which includes Graves Elementary.
$14,800
Per student
-10%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.4%
State 67.5%
Federal 3.1%
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.
Similar elementary schools in Salinas
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Sherwood Elementary
Standard public school
859 students 22:1 students per teacher
Monte Bella Elementary
Standard public school
812 students 25.4:1 students per teacher
Henry F. Kammann Elementary
Standard public school
743 students 25.6:1 students per teacher
Fremont Elementary
Standard public school
711 students 22.9:1 students per teacher
Natividad Elementary
Standard public school
705 students 24.3:1 students per teacher
Mission Park Elementary
Standard public school
657 students 27.4:1 students per teacher
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 (~32 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Graves Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Graves Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Graves Elementary'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 Graves Elementary
How many students attend Graves Elementary?
Graves Elementary has 32 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Salinas, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Graves Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Graves Elementary is 16:1, which is 26% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 2% higher 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 Graves Elementary?
22.6% of students at Graves Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Graves Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Graves Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 87.5% of enrollment, in Salinas, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Graves Elementary?
Graves Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (typical 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).
How does Graves Elementary rank among elementary schools in Salinas?
By Resource Investment Index, Graves Elementary ranks #3 of 39 elementary schools in Salinas, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Salinas on the city page.
Is Graves Elementary a good school?
Graves Elementary earns 37/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 Graves Elementary?
None reported; Graves Elementary operates only Graves Elementary as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.