Elementary school (grades K-5) · Whittier, CA

Mill Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Mill Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 064245006943
0/100100/10029/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
17
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Mill Elementary earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#10 of 29
elementary schools in Whittier · Resource Index
29
Resource Index · Lower
26.2:1
large classes for California
48.4%
free-lunch eligible

Mill Elementary has class sizes larger than 86% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Mill Elementary ranks #10 of 29 elementary schools in Whittier, CA.

Enrollment

341

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

13.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

26.2:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+22% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

48.4%

vs 55.5% California avg

-13% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

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

Larger 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 Mill Elementary

Mill Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Whittier, California, enrolling 341 students.

Class loads run heavy: 26.2:1 is larger than about 86% of California schools and 22% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 48.4% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 341 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 1,049 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #502.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (89% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 21/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Whittier's elementary schools, it stands alongside Ocean View Elementary (668 students): Mill Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (26.2:1 vs 26.7:1).

Whittier City Elementary also operates Katherine Edwards Middle (894 students) and Walter F. Dexter Middle (610 students) alongside Mill 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 Mill Elementary compares

Mill 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 26.2:1 ▲ 22% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 48.4% ▼ 13% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 341 top 69% - -

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

26.2:1
Leaner classes than 4% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
341
Bigger than 38% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
48.4%
free-lunch eligible - 13% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
26.2:1
students per teacher - 22% above state mean
Top 86% in California - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
33.4%
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
$15,897
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 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 88.9%
Asian 3.8%
White 3.5%
Two or More 2.3%
African American 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 20.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 20.6, Mill Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Whittier City Elementary, which includes Mill Elementary.

$15,897
Per student
-4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.5%
State 65.2%
Federal 11.3%

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 Mill Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Katherine Edwards Middle Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Walter F. Dexter Middle Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Wallen L. Andrews Elementary Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Daniel Phelan Elementary Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Longfellow Elementary Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Whittier City Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Whittier

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 Mill 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 Mill Elementary

How many students attend Mill Elementary?

Mill Elementary has 341 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Whittier, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Mill Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Mill Elementary is 26.2:1, which is 22% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 67% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mill Elementary?

48.4% of students at Mill Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mill Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Mill Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 88.9% of enrollment, in Whittier, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Mill Elementary?

Mill Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower 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 Mill Elementary rank among elementary schools in Whittier?

By Resource Investment Index, Mill Elementary ranks #10 of 29 elementary schools in Whittier, 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 Whittier on the city page.

Is Mill Elementary a good school?

Mill Elementary earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of California schools. It is also less 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 Whittier City Elementary?

Besides Mill Elementary, Whittier City Elementary also operates Katherine Edwards Middle (894 students), Walter F. Dexter Middle (610 students), and Wallen L. Andrews Elementary (542 students). See the Whittier City Elementary 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.

View saved

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.