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

Mountain View Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Mountain View Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 58/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061551001975
0/100100/10058/100
👥 S:T ratio
22
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
81
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Mountain View Elementary earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#1 of 20
elementary schools in Santa Barbara · Resource Index
58
Resource Index · Higher
19.5:1
students per teacher
9.9%
free-lunch eligible

Mountain View Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Mountain View Elementary ranks #1 of 20 elementary schools in Santa Barbara, CA.

Enrollment

351

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

18.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

19.5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-9% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

9.9%

vs 55.5% California avg

-82% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Mountain View 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 Mountain View Elementary

Mountain View Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Santa Barbara, California, enrolling 351 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 19.5:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 9.9% free-meal eligibility runs 82% below the California average.

Enrollment of 351 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index outscores 96% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.

Among 514 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #5, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by White (60%) and Hispanic or Latino (20%) (diversity index 57/100).

Attendance holds up well here: only 7.7% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

The surrounding Goleta Union Elementary spends $22,500 per pupil, 36% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Santa Barbara's elementary schools, it stands alongside Peabody Charter (780 students): Mountain View Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (19.5:1 vs 24.4:1).

Goleta Union Elementary also operates Brandon Elementary (429 students) and Isla Vista Elementary (418 students) alongside Mountain View 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 Mountain View Elementary compares

Mountain View 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 19.5:1 ▼ 9% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 9.9% ▼ 82% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 351 top 67% - -

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

19.5:1
Leaner classes than 18% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
351
Bigger than 40% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
9.9%
free-lunch eligible - 82% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher - 9% below state mean
Top 31% in California - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
7.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$22,500
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially 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 + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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

White 60.4%
Hispanic or Latino 19.7%
Two or More 13.4%
Asian 6.3%
African American 0.3%

Largest group: White at 60.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 57.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 57.4, Mountain View Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Goleta Union Elementary, which includes Mountain View Elementary.

$22,500
Per student
+36%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 70.3%
State 19.6%
Federal 10.1%

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 Mountain View Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Brandon Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Isla Vista Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Foothill Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hollister Elementary Similar size Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Kellogg Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Goleta Union Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Santa Barbara

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 Mountain View 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 Mountain View Elementary

How many students attend Mountain View Elementary?

Mountain View Elementary has 351 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Santa Barbara, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Mountain View Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Mountain View Elementary is 19.5:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 24% 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 Mountain View Elementary?

9.9% of students at Mountain View Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mountain View Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Mountain View Elementary is White at 60.4% of enrollment, in Santa Barbara, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.4/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Mountain View Elementary?

Mountain View Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (higher 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 Mountain View Elementary rank among elementary schools in Santa Barbara?

By Resource Investment Index, Mountain View Elementary ranks #1 of 20 elementary schools in Santa Barbara, 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 Barbara on the city page.

Is Mountain View Elementary a good school?

Mountain View Elementary earns 58/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Goleta Union Elementary?

Besides Mountain View Elementary, Goleta Union Elementary also operates Brandon Elementary (429 students), Isla Vista Elementary (418 students), and Foothill Elementary (413 students). See the Goleta Union 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.

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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.