Enrollment
276
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060219912650 Charter school
Life Source International Charter — Lancaster, CA
Federal NCES profile for Life Source International Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 19/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 0
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: Life Source International Charter District · 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)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
27.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
71.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Life Source International Charter 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
Life Source International Charter reports 276 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 10.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 27.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 28% 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 74% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 71.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 29% above the California average and 38% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 276 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 54.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Life Source International Charter District spends $17,457 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 16.7% from local sources (property taxes), 79.0% from the state, and 4.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 19/100 (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 Life Source International Charter 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 | 27.6:1 | ▲ 28% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 71.7% | ▲ 29% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 276 | top 24% | — | — |
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
71.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 29% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
27.6:1
students per teacher
— 28% above state mean
Top 95% in California — lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
54.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,457
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 276 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 29 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 276 Top 24% in California — larger than 76% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 10.0
Students per teacher 27.6:1 +28% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 71.7% +29% vs state
NCES ID 060219912650
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 276:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 54.7%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 29
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Life Source International Charter District, which includes Life Source International Charter.
$17,457
Per student
-3%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 16.7%
State 79.0%
Federal 4.3%
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 Lancaster
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Sundown Elementary
Standard public school
941 students 26.5:1 students per teacher
Monte Vista Elementary
Standard public school
788 students 27.3:1 students per teacher
Ilead Lancaster Charter
Standard public school
771 students 25.6:1 students per teacher
El Dorado Elementary
Standard public school
766 students 26:1 students per teacher
Del Sur Senior Elementary
Standard public school
763 students 27.4:1 students per teacher
West Wind Elementary
Standard public school
757 students 29.4:1 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 Life Source International Charter
How many students attend Life Source International Charter?
Life Source International Charter has 276 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Lancaster, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Life Source International Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Life Source International Charter is 27.6:1, which is 28% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 74% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Life Source International Charter?
71.7% of students at Life Source International Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Life Source International Charter?
Life Source International Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 19/100 (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.