Enrollment
1,850
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060200307250 Charter school
Natomas Charter — Sacramento, CA
Federal NCES profile for Natomas Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 83
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: Natomas Charter District · 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)
88.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.2:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Natomas Charter 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
Natomas Charter reports 1,850 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 88.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 33% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 65% below the California average and 62% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 308 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 6.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Natomas Charter District spends $10,746 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 27.3% from local sources (property taxes), 70.7% from the state, and 2.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), 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 Natomas Charter 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 | 21.2:1 | ▼ 2% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.5% | ▼ 65% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,850 | top 96% | — | — |
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
19.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 65% 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
21.2:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 41% in California — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
6.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$10,746
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 308 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,850 Top 96% in California — larger than 4% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 88.0
Students per teacher 21.2:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.5% -65% vs state
NCES ID 060200307250
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 29.2%
Asian 23.8%
White 19.4%
Two or More 16.2%
African American 10.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 29.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 1
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 308:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 6.7%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Natomas Charter District, which includes Natomas Charter.
$10,746
Per student
-40%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-45%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 27.3%
State 70.7%
Federal 2.0%
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.
Similar other schools in Sacramento
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Highlands Community Charter
Standard public school
11,713 students 71:1 students per teacher
California Innovative Career Academy
Standard public school
1,729 students 41.5:1 students per teacher
Fortune
Standard public school
1,698 students 31.1:1 students per teacher
Westlake Charter
Standard public school
1,493 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Leroy Greene Academy
Standard public school
755 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
Sava - Sacramento Academic and Vocational Academy - Scusd
Standard public school
672 students 19.2:1 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 Natomas Charter
How many students attend Natomas Charter?
Natomas Charter has 1,850 students enrolled. It is a other school in Sacramento, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Natomas Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Natomas Charter is 21.2:1, which is 2% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 33% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Natomas Charter?
19.5% of students at Natomas Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Natomas Charter?
The largest demographic group at Natomas Charter is Hispanic or Latino at 29.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sacramento, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Natomas Charter?
Natomas Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.