Enrollment
1,105
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060744007270
Newhart Middle — Mission Viejo, CA
Federal NCES profile for Newhart Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 60
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: Capistrano 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)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
25.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Newhart 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
Newhart Middle reports 1,105 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 53.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% 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 23% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 25.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the California average and 51% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 553 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Capistrano Unified spends $15,039 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 61.2% from local sources (property taxes), 31.0% from the state, and 7.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Newhart 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 | 19.6:1 | ▼ 9% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 25.5% | ▼ 54% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,105 | top 91% | — | — |
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
25.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% 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
19.6:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 26% in California — lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,039
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 553 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 24 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,105 Top 91% in California — larger than 9% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 53.0
Students per teacher 19.6:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 25.5% -54% vs state
NCES ID 060744007270
Student demographics
White 42.2%
Hispanic or Latino 26.7%
Two or More 15.8%
Asian 13.6%
African American 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 42.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 553:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.9%
In-school suspensions 31
Out-of-school suspensions 24
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Capistrano Unified, which includes Newhart Middle.
$15,039
Per student
-17%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 61.2%
State 31.0%
Federal 7.7%
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
- 2,740
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,641
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,563
- Students per teacher
- 24.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,030
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,991
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar middle schools in Mission Viejo
3 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 Newhart Middle
How many students attend Newhart Middle?
Newhart Middle has 1,105 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mission Viejo, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Newhart Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Newhart Middle is 19.6:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 23% 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 Newhart Middle?
25.5% of students at Newhart Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Newhart Middle?
The largest demographic group at Newhart Middle is White at 42.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mission Viejo, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Newhart Middle?
Newhart Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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.