Enrollment
570
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060681000621
Meridian Elementary — El Cajon, CA
Federal NCES profile for Meridian Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 25/100.
👥 Class size 13
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 16
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: Cajon Valley Union · 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)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
77.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
+40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Meridian 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
Meridian Elementary reports 570 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 26.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 0% 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 36% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 77.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% above the California average and 50% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 570 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cajon Valley Union spends $18,262 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.3% from local sources (property taxes), 58.5% from the state, and 13.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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 Meridian 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 | 21.7:1 | ▲ 0% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 77.6% | ▲ 40% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 570 | top 64% | — | — |
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
77.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% 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
21.7:1
students per teacher
— 0% above state mean
Top 46% in California — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
33.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,262
per pupil, district-wide
— above 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 570 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 570 Top 64% in California — larger than 36% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 26.0
Students per teacher 21.7:1 +0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 77.6% +40% vs state
NCES ID 060681000621
Student demographics
White 47.5%
Hispanic or Latino 20.4%
Asian 15.8%
Two or More 10.2%
African American 4.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 47.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 570:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cajon Valley Union, which includes Meridian Elementary.
$18,262
Per student
+1%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.3%
State 58.5%
Federal 13.2%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,481
- Students per teacher
- 23.8:1
- Enrollment
- 985
- Students per teacher
- 26.7:1
- Enrollment
- 942
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Enrollment
- 929
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 878
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
Similar elementary schools in El Cajon
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Naranca Elementary
Standard public school
985 students 26.7:1 students per teacher
Lexington Elementary
Standard public school
878 students 24.4:1 students per teacher
Johnson Elementary
Standard public school
766 students 26.1:1 students per teacher
Chase Avenue Elementary
Standard public school
757 students 23.9:1 students per teacher
Flying Hills School of Arts
Standard public school
742 students 26:1 students per teacher
Magnolia Elementary
Standard public school
703 students 23.7:1 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 Meridian Elementary
How many students attend Meridian Elementary?
Meridian Elementary has 570 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in El Cajon, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Meridian Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Meridian Elementary is 21.7:1, which is 0% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 36% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Meridian Elementary?
77.6% of students at Meridian Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Meridian Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Meridian Elementary is White at 47.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in El Cajon, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Meridian Elementary?
Meridian Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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.