Enrollment
225
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 060203813815 Charter school
Luis Valdez Leadership Academy — San Jose, CA
Federal NCES profile for Luis Valdez Leadership Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 32
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 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: Luis Valdez Leadership Academy 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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
67.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
+22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Luis Valdez Leadership Academy 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
Luis Valdez Leadership Academy reports 225 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 6% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 67.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 22% above the California average and 31% above the national baseline. The school offers 8 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 225 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 49.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Luis Valdez Leadership Academy District spends $15,197 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.2% from local sources (property taxes), 66.6% from the state, and 8.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Luis Valdez Leadership Academy 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 | 16.9:1 | ▼ 22% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 67.8% | ▲ 22% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 225 | top 19% | — | — |
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
67.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 22% 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
16.9:1
students per teacher
— 22% below state mean
Top 13% in California — lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
49.8%
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
$15,197
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 225 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 225 Top 19% in California — larger than 81% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 16.9:1 -22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 67.8% +22% vs state
NCES ID 060203813815
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 100.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 100.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 8
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 225:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 49.8%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 13
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Luis Valdez Leadership Academy District, which includes Luis Valdez Leadership Academy.
$15,197
Per student
-16%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.2%
State 66.6%
Federal 8.2%
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 high schools in San Jose
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Evergreen Valley High
Standard public school
2,703 students 24.3:1 students per teacher
Independence High
Standard public school
2,289 students 22.1:1 students per teacher
Silver Creek High
Standard public school
2,139 students 24.6:1 students per teacher
Santa Teresa High
Standard public school
2,134 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Piedmont Hills High
Standard public school
1,918 students 22.9:1 students per teacher
Leigh High
Standard public school
1,884 students 24.8:1 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 Luis Valdez Leadership Academy
How many students attend Luis Valdez Leadership Academy?
Luis Valdez Leadership Academy has 225 students enrolled. It is a high school in San Jose, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy is 16.9:1, which is 22% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 6% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy?
67.8% of students at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Luis Valdez Leadership Academy?
The largest demographic group at Luis Valdez Leadership Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 100.0%. The school serves a student body in San Jose, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Luis Valdez Leadership Academy?
Luis Valdez Leadership Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.