Enrollment
364
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060837000823
Neal Dow Elementary — Chico, CA
Federal NCES profile for Neal Dow Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 29/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 Attendance 31
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: Chico Unified · 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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
+2% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Neal Dow 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
Neal Dow Elementary reports 364 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% 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 11% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 56.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 2% above the California average and 9% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 364 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 27.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Chico Unified spends $17,486 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.8% from local sources (property taxes), 51.0% from the state, and 13.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (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 Neal Dow 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 | 17.6:1 | ▼ 19% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.4% | ▲ 2% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 364 | top 34% | — | — |
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
56.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 2% 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
17.6:1
students per teacher
— 19% below state mean
Top 15% in California — lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
27.7%
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
$17,486
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 364 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 364 Top 34% in California — larger than 66% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 17.6:1 -19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 56.4% +2% vs state
NCES ID 060837000823
Student demographics
White 53.6%
Hispanic or Latino 27.5%
Two or More 13.5%
Asian 3.0%
African American 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 53.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 364:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 27.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chico Unified, which includes Neal Dow Elementary.
$17,486
Per student
-3%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.8%
State 51.0%
Federal 13.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,978
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,804
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,012
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 861
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Enrollment
- 716
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Chico
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Shasta Elementary
Standard public school
621 students 22.3:1 students per teacher
Emma Wilson Elementary
Standard public school
597 students 20.2:1 students per teacher
Chico Country Day
Standard public school
585 students 24.6:1 students per teacher
Marigold Elementary
Standard public school
571 students 27:1 students per teacher
Rosedale Elementary
Standard public school
563 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Little Chico Creek Elementary
Standard public school
471 students 19.6:1 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 Neal Dow Elementary
How many students attend Neal Dow Elementary?
Neal Dow Elementary has 364 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Chico, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Neal Dow Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Neal Dow Elementary is 17.6:1, which is 19% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 11% 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 Neal Dow Elementary?
56.4% of students at Neal Dow Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Neal Dow Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Neal Dow Elementary is White at 53.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Chico, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Neal Dow Elementary?
Neal Dow Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (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.