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

Lincoln Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Lincoln Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 19/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063393012359
0/100100/10019/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
44
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Lincoln Elementary earns 19/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 84% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#8 of 39
elementary schools in Salinas · Resource Index
19
Resource Index · Lower
25.8:1
large classes for California
36.3%
free-lunch eligible

Lincoln Elementary has class sizes larger than 84% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Lincoln Elementary ranks #8 of 39 elementary schools in Salinas, CA.

Enrollment

646

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

25.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

25.8:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+20% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

36.3%

vs 55.5% California avg

-35% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Lincoln Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 Lincoln Elementary

Lincoln Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Salinas, California, enrolling 646 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 25.8:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 36.3% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 646 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Among 1,370 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,151, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (91% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 17/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 646 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Salinas's elementary schools, it stands alongside Sherwood Elementary (859 students): Lincoln Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (25.8:1 vs 22:1).

Salinas City Elementary also operates Sherwood Elementary (859 students) and Henry F. Kammann Elementary (743 students) alongside Lincoln Elementary.

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 Lincoln Elementary compares

Lincoln 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 25.8:1 ▲ 20% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 36.3% ▼ 35% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 646 top 28% - -

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

25.8:1
Leaner classes than 4% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
646
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
36.3%
free-lunch eligible - 35% 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
25.8:1
students per teacher - 20% above state mean
Top 84% in California - lower ratio than 16% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
22.4%
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
$16,534
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 646 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.1 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 90.7%
White 5.3%
Two or More 2.8%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
African American 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 90.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 17.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 17.4, Lincoln Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salinas City Elementary, which includes Lincoln Elementary.

$16,534
Per student
+0%
vs California
Avg $16,509
0%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.1%
State 63.5%
Federal 12.4%

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 Lincoln Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Sherwood Elementary Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Henry F. Kammann Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Natividad Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Mission Park Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Los Padres Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Salinas City Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Salinas

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 Lincoln Elementary'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 Lincoln Elementary

How many students attend Lincoln Elementary?

Lincoln Elementary has 646 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Salinas, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Lincoln Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Lincoln Elementary is 25.8:1, which is 20% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 64% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lincoln Elementary?

36.3% of students at Lincoln Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lincoln Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Lincoln Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 90.7% of enrollment, in Salinas, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Lincoln Elementary?

Lincoln Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 19/100 (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 Lincoln Elementary rank among elementary schools in Salinas?

By Resource Investment Index, Lincoln Elementary ranks #8 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.

Is Lincoln Elementary a good school?

Lincoln Elementary earns 19/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 84% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Salinas City Elementary?

Besides Lincoln Elementary, Salinas City Elementary also operates Sherwood Elementary (859 students), Henry F. Kammann Elementary (743 students), and Natividad Elementary (705 students). See the Salinas City Elementary 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.