Enrollment
62
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Salinas, CA
Lagunita Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Lagunita Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062049002472
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 23
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lagunita Elementary earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of California schools.
- #4 of 39
- elementary schools in Salinas · Resource Index
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- small classes for California
- 15.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Lagunita Elementary has class sizes smaller than 93% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Lagunita Elementary ranks #4 of 39 elementary schools in Salinas, CA.
School address
District: Lagunita Elementary · California
NCES ID 062049002472 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
5.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-42% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lagunita Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lagunita Elementary
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Lagunita Elementary sits near the smaller end of the California enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Need and resources require a component-level read
Lagunita Elementary falls within the wide middle of the California distribution on both free-meal eligibility and the Resource Investment Index. Neither measure supplies an honest headline by itself. The useful distinctions are in the components: classroom staffing, counselor availability, attendance, gifted-program access, and district spending. Those fields can pull in opposite directions even when the overall percentile looks ordinary.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Lagunita Elementary's 30.6% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Lagunita Elementary is a lower-poverty, small elementary school in Salinas, California, enrolling 62 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 12.4:1, Lagunita Elementary is leaner than roughly 93% of California schools and 42% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 15.8% free-meal eligibility runs 72% below the California average.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of California schools, with 62 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 47 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #29.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (50%) and White (45%) (diversity index 54/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Lagunita Elementary spends $12,490 per pupil, 24% below the California average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Among Salinas's elementary schools, it stands alongside Sherwood Elementary (859 students): Lagunita Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.4:1 vs 22:1).
Lagunita Elementary operates only this one school, so Lagunita Elementary has no district-mates to compare against locally. At 62 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 Lagunita Elementary compares
Lagunita 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 | 12.4:1 | ▼ 42% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.8% | ▼ 72% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 62 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
62
Bigger than 7% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
15.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 72% 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
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 42% below state mean
Top 7% in California - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
30.6%
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
$12,490
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 50.0%
White 45.2%
Two or More 4.8%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 50.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 54.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 54.3, Lagunita Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lagunita Elementary, which includes Lagunita Elementary.
$12,490
Per student
-24%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.3%
State 72.6%
Federal 4.1%
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 (~62 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lagunita Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Lagunita Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Lagunita 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 Lagunita Elementary
How many students attend Lagunita Elementary?
Lagunita Elementary has 62 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Salinas, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lagunita Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Lagunita Elementary is 12.4:1, which is 42% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 21% 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 Lagunita Elementary?
15.8% of students at Lagunita Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lagunita Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Lagunita Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 50.0% of enrollment, in Salinas, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lagunita Elementary?
Lagunita Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Lagunita Elementary rank among elementary schools in Salinas?
By Resource Investment Index, Lagunita Elementary ranks #4 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.
What other schools are in Lagunita Elementary?
None reported; Lagunita Elementary operates only Lagunita 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 July 2026.