Enrollment
634
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063153004887
Los Penasquitos Elementary — San Diego, CA
Federal NCES profile for Los Penasquitos Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 17/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 37
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: Poway Unified · 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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
27.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Los Penasquitos Elementary 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
Los Penasquitos Elementary reports 634 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 27.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% 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 73% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% below the California average and 31% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 634 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Poway Unified spends $15,877 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.2% from local sources (property taxes), 39.4% from the state, and 6.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 17/100 (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 Los Penasquitos Elementary 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 | 27.5:1 | ▲ 27% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.5% | ▼ 36% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 634 | top 71% | — | — |
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
35.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% 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
27.5:1
students per teacher
— 27% 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
25.2%
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
$15,877
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 634 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 634 Top 71% in California — larger than 29% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 27.5:1 +27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.5% -36% vs state
NCES ID 063153004887
Student demographics
Asian 34.9%
White 29.4%
Hispanic or Latino 18.2%
Two or More 11.4%
African American 5.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Asian at 34.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 634:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poway Unified, which includes Los Penasquitos Elementary.
$15,877
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.2%
State 39.4%
Federal 6.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 26.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,210
- Students per teacher
- 26:1
- Enrollment
- 2,116
- Students per teacher
- 25.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,101
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,800
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
Similar elementary schools in San Diego
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Albert Einstein Academies
Standard public school
1,448 students 24:1 students per teacher
Design 39 Campus
Standard public school
1,216 students 27.2:1 students per teacher
Nestor Language Academy Charter
Standard public school
1,079 students 24.7:1 students per teacher
Ocean View Hills
Standard public school
1,020 students 22.4:1 students per teacher
Language Academy
Standard public school
1,015 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Del Sur Elementary
Standard public school
891 students 26.2:1 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 Los Penasquitos Elementary
How many students attend Los Penasquitos Elementary?
Los Penasquitos Elementary has 634 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in San Diego, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Los Penasquitos Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Los Penasquitos Elementary is 27.5:1, which is 27% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 73% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Los Penasquitos Elementary?
35.5% of students at Los Penasquitos Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Los Penasquitos Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Los Penasquitos Elementary is Asian at 34.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Diego, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Los Penasquitos Elementary?
Los Penasquitos Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 17/100 (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.