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

Monte Vista Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Monte Vista Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063531006000
0/100100/10033/100
👥 S:T ratio
30
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Monte Vista Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#26 of 51
elementary schools in Santa Ana · Resource Index
33
Resource Index · Typical
17.4:1
small classes for California
85.5%
free-lunch eligible

Monte Vista Elementary has class sizes smaller than 82% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Monte Vista Elementary ranks #26 of 51 elementary schools in Santa Ana, CA.

School address

Enrollment

348

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

20.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.4:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-19% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

85.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

+54% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Monte Vista 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 Monte Vista Elementary

Monte Vista Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Santa Ana, California, enrolling 348 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 17.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need is high: 85.5% of students qualify for free meals, 54% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 348 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 1,297 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #338.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 3/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 19.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Santa Ana's elementary schools, it stands alongside Mcfadden Institute of Technology (1,074 students): Monte Vista Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.4:1 vs 20.3:1).

Santa Ana Unified also operates Santa Ana High (2,505 students) and Segerstrom High (2,376 students) alongside Monte Vista 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 Monte Vista Elementary compares

Monte Vista 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 17.4:1 ▼ 19% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 85.5% ▲ 54% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 348 top 68% - -

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

17.4:1
Leaner classes than 28% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
348
Bigger than 39% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
85.5%
free-lunch eligible - 54% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.4:1
students per teacher - 19% below state mean
Top 18% in California - lower ratio than 82% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
46.3%
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
$18,933
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
2
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 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 98.3%
Asian 1.1%
White 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 3.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 3.4, Monte Vista Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Ana Unified, which includes Monte Vista Elementary.

$18,933
Per student
+15%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.0%
State 54.7%
Federal 19.3%

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 Monte Vista Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Santa Ana High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Segerstrom High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Valley High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Hector G. Godinez Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Century High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Santa Ana Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Santa Ana

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 Monte Vista 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 Monte Vista Elementary

How many students attend Monte Vista Elementary?

Monte Vista Elementary has 348 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Santa Ana, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Monte Vista Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Monte Vista Elementary is 17.4:1, which is 19% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 11% 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 Monte Vista Elementary?

85.5% of students at Monte Vista Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Monte Vista Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Monte Vista Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 98.3% of enrollment, in Santa Ana, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Monte Vista Elementary?

Monte Vista Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Monte Vista Elementary rank among elementary schools in Santa Ana?

By Resource Investment Index, Monte Vista Elementary ranks #26 of 51 elementary schools in Santa Ana, 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 Ana on the city page.

Is Monte Vista Elementary a good school?

Monte Vista Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 82% 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 Santa Ana Unified?

Besides Monte Vista Elementary, Santa Ana Unified also operates Santa Ana High (2,505 students), Segerstrom High (2,376 students), and Valley High (1,908 students). See the Santa Ana 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.