Elementary school (grades K-5) · Santa Monica, CA

Mckinley Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Mckinley Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063570006096
0/100100/10034/100
👥 S:T ratio
37
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
35
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Mckinley Elementary earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of California schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#5 of 8
elementary schools in Santa Monica · Resource Index
34
Resource Index · Typical
15.7:1
small classes for California
29.8%
free-lunch eligible

Mckinley Elementary has class sizes smaller than 87% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Mckinley Elementary ranks #5 of 8 elementary schools in Santa Monica, CA.

Enrollment

362

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

23.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.7:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-27% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

29.8%

vs 55.5% California avg

-46% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

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

Smaller 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 Mckinley Elementary

Mckinley Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Santa Monica, California, enrolling 362 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 15.7:1, Mckinley Elementary is leaner than roughly 87% of California schools and 27% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 29.8% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 362 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 914 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #382.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (33%) and White (33%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 74/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Santa Monica's elementary schools, it stands alongside Franklin Elementary (597 students): Mckinley Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.7:1 vs 22.1:1).

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified also operates Santa Monica High (2,588 students) and Lincoln Middle (914 students) alongside Mckinley 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 Mckinley Elementary compares

Mckinley 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 15.7:1 ▼ 27% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 29.8% ▼ 46% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 362 top 66% - -

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

15.7:1
Leaner classes than 41% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
362
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
29.8%
free-lunch eligible - 46% 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
15.7:1
students per teacher - 27% below state mean
Top 13% in California - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
26.0%
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
$19,713
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 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 33.1%
White 32.9%
Asian 13.0%
African American 10.5%
Two or More 10.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 33.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 74.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 74.4, Mckinley Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified, which includes Mckinley Elementary.

$19,713
Per student
+19%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 85.5%
State 8.6%
Federal 5.9%

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 Mckinley Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Santa Monica High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lincoln Middle Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
John Adams Middle Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Franklin Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Grant Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Santa Monica

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 Mckinley 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 Mckinley Elementary

How many students attend Mckinley Elementary?

Mckinley Elementary has 362 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Santa Monica, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Mckinley Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Mckinley Elementary is 15.7:1, which is 27% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 0% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mckinley Elementary?

29.8% of students at Mckinley Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mckinley Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Mckinley Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 33.1% of enrollment, in Santa Monica, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 74.4/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Mckinley Elementary?

Mckinley Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Mckinley Elementary rank among elementary schools in Santa Monica?

By Resource Investment Index, Mckinley Elementary ranks #5 of 8 elementary schools in Santa Monica, 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 Santa Monica on the city page.

Is Mckinley Elementary a good school?

Mckinley Elementary earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of California schools. It is also more 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 Santa Monica-Malibu Unified?

Besides Mckinley Elementary, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified also operates Santa Monica High (2,588 students), Lincoln Middle (914 students), and John Adams Middle (806 students). See the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified 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.