Enrollment
771
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 061803002225
Isaac L. Sowers Middle — Huntington Beach, CA
Federal NCES profile for Isaac L. Sowers Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 12
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 64
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: Huntington Beach City Elementary · 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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.1:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Isaac L. Sowers Middle 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
Isaac L. Sowers Middle reports 771 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% 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 39% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 15.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 72% below the California average and 69% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 771 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Huntington Beach City Elementary spends $19,887 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 79.5% from local sources (property taxes), 14.1% from the state, and 6.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Isaac L. Sowers Middle 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 | 22.1:1 | ▲ 2% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.8% | ▼ 72% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 771 | top 81% | — | — |
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
15.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 72% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.1:1
students per teacher
— 2% above state mean
Top 51% in California — lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
14.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$19,887
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 771 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
12
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 771 Top 81% in California — larger than 19% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 22.1:1 +2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 15.8% -72% vs state
NCES ID 061803002225
Student demographics
White 58.5%
Hispanic or Latino 15.6%
Two or More 12.8%
Asian 12.5%
African American 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 58.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 771:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.3%
In-school suspensions 12
Out-of-school suspensions 24
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Huntington Beach City Elementary, which includes Isaac L. Sowers Middle.
$19,887
Per student
+10%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 79.5%
State 14.1%
Federal 6.5%
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
- 884
- Students per teacher
- 24.3:1
- Enrollment
- 591
- Students per teacher
- 25:1
- Enrollment
- 516
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 495
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 477
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
Similar middle schools in Huntington Beach
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Helen Stacey Middle
Standard public school
947 students 21.1:1 students per teacher
Ethel Dwyer Middle
Standard public school
884 students 24.3:1 students per teacher
Mesa View Middle
Standard public school
817 students 23.8:1 students per teacher
Marine View Middle
Standard public school
736 students 24.7:1 students per teacher
Talbert (Samuel E.) Middle
Standard public school
690 students 20.9:1 students per teacher
Spring View Middle
Standard public school
487 students 19.5:1 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 Isaac L. Sowers Middle
How many students attend Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
Isaac L. Sowers Middle has 771 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Huntington Beach, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Isaac L. Sowers Middle is 22.1:1, which is 2% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 39% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
15.8% of students at Isaac L. Sowers Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
The largest demographic group at Isaac L. Sowers Middle is White at 58.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Huntington Beach, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
Isaac L. Sowers Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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.