Enrollment
80
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Shafter, CA
Grow Academy Shafter
Federal NCES profile for Grow Academy Shafter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 68/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060209114186Charter school
👥 S:T ratio 90
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 84
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Grow Academy Shafter earns 68/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools.
- #1 of 5
- elementary schools in Shafter · Resource Index
- 68
- Resource Index · Higher
- 2.6:1
- small classes for California
- 55.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Grow Academy Shafter has class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Grow Academy Shafter ranks #1 of 5 elementary schools in Shafter, CA.
School address
District: Grimmway Academy Shafter District · California
NCES ID 060209114186 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
2.6:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-88% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
-0% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Grow Academy Shafter compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Grow Academy Shafter
Grow Academy Shafter is a higher-need, small charter elementary school in Shafter, California, enrolling 80 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 2.6:1, Grow Academy Shafter is leaner than roughly 99% of California schools and 88% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 55.4% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 91% of California schools, with 80 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 217 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #15, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 80 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Among Shafter's elementary schools, it stands alongside Golden Oak Elementary (717 students): Grow Academy Shafter is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (2.6:1 vs 19.9:1).
Grimmway Academy Shafter District is a single-school charter district, so Grow Academy Shafter operates independently rather than alongside district-mates. At 80 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 Grow Academy Shafter compares
Grow Academy Shafter on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 2.6:1 | ▼ 88% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.4% | ▼ 0% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 80 | top 91% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
2.6:1
Leaner classes than 100% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
80
Bigger than 8% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 0% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
2.6:1
students per teacher
- 88% below state mean
Top 1% in California - lower ratio than 100% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$14,114
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 80 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.5 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 85.0%
White 15.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 85.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 25.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 25.5, Grow Academy Shafter is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Grimmway Academy Shafter District, which includes Grow Academy Shafter.
$14,114
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 10.5%
State 78.0%
Federal 11.4%
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 Shafter
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Golden Oak Elementary
Standard public school
717 students 19.9:1 students per teacher
Redwood Elementary
Standard public school
601 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Sequoia Elementary
Standard public school
534 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Maple Elementary
Standard public school
287 students 22.1:1 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 (~80 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~2.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Grow Academy Shafter's federal record.
- Compare Grow Academy Shafter against another school. Compare schools
- Grimmway Academy Shafter District'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 Grow Academy Shafter
How many students attend Grow Academy Shafter?
Grow Academy Shafter has 80 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Shafter, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Grow Academy Shafter?
The student-teacher ratio at Grow Academy Shafter is 2.6:1, which is 88% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 83% 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 Grow Academy Shafter?
55.4% of students at Grow Academy Shafter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Grow Academy Shafter?
The largest demographic group at Grow Academy Shafter is Hispanic or Latino at 85.0% of enrollment, in Shafter, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Grow Academy Shafter?
Grow Academy Shafter has a Resource Investment Index of 68/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Grow Academy Shafter rank among elementary schools in Shafter?
By Resource Investment Index, Grow Academy Shafter ranks #1 of 5 elementary schools in Shafter, 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 Shafter on the city page.
Is Grow Academy Shafter a good school?
Grow Academy Shafter earns 68/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% 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 Grimmway Academy Shafter District?
None; Grimmway Academy Shafter District is a single-school charter district, and Grow Academy Shafter is its only campus.
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.