Elementary school (grades K-5) · Ventura, CA

Lemon Grove

Federal NCES profile for Lemon Grove, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 064098006747
0/100100/10031/100
👥 S:T ratio
14
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
40
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Lemon Grove earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#4 of 18
elementary schools in Ventura · Resource Index
31
Resource Index · Lower
21.4:1
students per teacher
50.5%
free-lunch eligible

Lemon Grove has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Lemon Grove ranks #4 of 18 elementary schools in Ventura, CA.

School address

Enrollment

299

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

14.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.4:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-0% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

50.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

-9% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Lemon Grove compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Lemon Grove

Lemon Grove is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Ventura, California, enrolling 299 students.

At 21.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 50.5% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 299 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 880 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #379.

Its student body is led by White (45%) and Hispanic or Latino (45%) (diversity index 60/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 299 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 51.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Ventura's elementary schools, it stands alongside Citrus Glen Elementary (491 students): Lemon Grove is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (21.4:1 vs 27.3:1).

Ventura Unified also operates Ventura High (1,939 students) and Buena High (1,585 students) alongside Lemon Grove.

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 Lemon Grove compares

Lemon Grove on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 21.4:1 ▼ 0% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 50.5% ▼ 9% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 299 top 74% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

21.4:1
Leaner classes than 12% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
299
Bigger than 32% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
50.5%
free-lunch eligible - 9% 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
21.4:1
students per teacher - 0% below state mean
Top 47% in California - lower ratio than 53% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
51.8%
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
$14,481
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 299 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 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

White 44.8%
Hispanic or Latino 44.8%
African American 3.7%
Two or More 3.7%
Asian 2.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 44.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 59.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 59.5, Lemon Grove is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ventura Unified, which includes Lemon Grove.

$14,481
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 40.6%
State 48.9%
Federal 10.4%

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.

How Lemon Grove Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Ventura High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Buena High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Foothill Technology High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Cabrillo Middle Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Balboa Middle Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Lemon Grove's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Ventura Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Ventura

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Lemon Grove's federal record.

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 Lemon Grove

How many students attend Lemon Grove?

Lemon Grove has 299 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Ventura, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Lemon Grove?

The student-teacher ratio at Lemon Grove is 21.4:1, which is 0% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 36% 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 Lemon Grove?

50.5% of students at Lemon Grove are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lemon Grove?

The largest demographic group at Lemon Grove is Hispanic or Latino at 44.8% of enrollment, in Ventura, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.5/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Lemon Grove?

Lemon Grove has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Lemon Grove rank among elementary schools in Ventura?

By Resource Investment Index, Lemon Grove ranks #4 of 18 elementary schools in Ventura, 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 Ventura on the city page.

Is Lemon Grove a good school?

Lemon Grove earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Ventura Unified?

Besides Lemon Grove, Ventura Unified also operates Ventura High (1,939 students), Buena High (1,585 students), and Foothill Technology High (951 students). See the Ventura Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.