Enrollment
494
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 063025004716 Charter school
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley — Petaluma, CA
Federal NCES profile for Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 41
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: Petaluma Joint Union High · 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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
26.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
17.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley 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
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley reports 494 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 26.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% 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 67% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 17.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the California average and 67% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley 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 | 26.6:1 | ▲ 23% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 17.3% | ▼ 69% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 494 | top 54% | — | — |
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
17.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% 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
26.6:1
students per teacher
— 23% above state mean
Top 92% in California — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
23.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 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 494 Top 54% in California — larger than 46% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 26.6:1 +23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 17.3% -69% vs state
NCES ID 063025004716
Student demographics
White 73.3%
Two or More 12.4%
Hispanic or Latino 12.0%
Asian 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
African American 0.2%
Largest group: White at 73.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.7%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,653
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,193
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 812
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 454
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 115
- Students per teacher
- 30.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Petaluma
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Loma Vista Immersion Academy
Standard public school
451 students 24.5:1 students per teacher
Sonoma Mountain Elementary
Standard public school
422 students 27.3:1 students per teacher
Corona Creek Elementary
Standard public school
403 students 22.1:1 students per teacher
Grant Elementary
Standard public school
386 students 23.8:1 students per teacher
Meadow Elementary
Standard public school
384 students 23.6:1 students per teacher
Mckinley Elementary
Standard public school
368 students 25.9:1 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 Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley
How many students attend Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley?
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley has 494 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Petaluma, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley?
The student-teacher ratio at Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley is 26.6:1, which is 23% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 67% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley?
17.3% of students at Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley?
The largest demographic group at Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley is White at 73.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Petaluma, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley?
Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.