Enrollment
914
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 062955004563
Nellie N. Coffman Middle — Cathedral City, CA
Federal NCES profile for Nellie N. Coffman Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 13
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 25
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: Palm Springs 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)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
98.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
+77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Nellie N. Coffman Middle 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
Nellie N. Coffman Middle reports 914 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 44.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 0% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 36% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 98.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 77% above the California average and 89% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 305 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 30.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palm Springs Unified spends $19,325 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.1% from local sources (property taxes), 54.5% from the state, and 9.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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 Nellie N. Coffman Middle 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 | 21.7:1 | ▲ 0% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 98.0% | ▲ 77% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 914 | top 87% | — | — |
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
98.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 77% 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
21.7:1
students per teacher
— 0% above state mean
Top 46% in California — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
30.1%
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
$19,325
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 305 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 86 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 914 Top 87% in California — larger than 13% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 44.0
Students per teacher 21.7:1 +0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 98.0% +77% vs state
NCES ID 062955004563
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 91.7%
White 4.6%
African American 1.5%
Asian 1.0%
Two or More 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 91.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 305:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 30.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 86
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palm Springs Unified, which includes Nellie N. Coffman Middle.
$19,325
Per student
+7%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.1%
State 54.5%
Federal 9.5%
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
- 1,687
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,497
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 1,401
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,334
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,020
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
Similar middle schools in Cathedral City
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Nellie N. Coffman Middle
How many students attend Nellie N. Coffman Middle?
Nellie N. Coffman Middle has 914 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Cathedral City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Nellie N. Coffman Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Nellie N. Coffman Middle is 21.7:1, which is 0% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 36% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Nellie N. Coffman Middle?
98.0% of students at Nellie N. Coffman Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Nellie N. Coffman Middle?
The largest demographic group at Nellie N. Coffman Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 91.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cathedral City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Nellie N. Coffman Middle?
Nellie N. Coffman Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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.