Enrollment
529
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060142609519
Norman L. Sullivan Middle — Bonsall, CA
Federal NCES profile for Norman L. Sullivan Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 65
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 →
The verdict
Norman L. Sullivan Middle earns a D Resource Investment Index (40/100), with class sizes near the California median.
- D
- Resource Index · 40/100
- 20.4:1
- students per teacher
- 35.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 529
- students enrolled
School address
District: Bonsall 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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
35.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Norman L. Sullivan 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
Norman L. Sullivan Middle reports 529 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% 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 15.7:1, it is 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 35.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% below the California average and 32% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 265 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bonsall Unified spends $13,818 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $16,509 and below the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 48.9% from local sources (property taxes), 37.3% from the state, and 13.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Norman L. Sullivan 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 | 20.4:1 | ▼ 6% | 21.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 35.1% | ▼ 37% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 529 | top 59% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
20 smaller classes than 14% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
529 larger than 65% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
35.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% 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
20.4:1
students per teacher
— 6% below state mean
Top 33% in California — lower ratio than 67% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
14.2%
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
$13,818
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $16,509
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 265 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 44 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 529 Top 59% in California — larger than 41% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 20.4:1 -6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 35.1% -37% vs state
NCES ID 060142609519
Student demographics
White 41.4%
Hispanic or Latino 39.5%
Two or More 8.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 4.5%
Asian 4.2%
African American 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: White at 41.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 265:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.2%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 44
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bonsall Unified, which includes Norman L. Sullivan Middle.
$13,818
Per student
-16%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.9%
State 37.3%
Federal 13.8%
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
- 949
- Students per teacher
- 25.5:1
- Enrollment
- 383
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 342
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 71
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
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 Norman L. Sullivan Middle
How many students attend Norman L. Sullivan Middle?
Norman L. Sullivan Middle has 529 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Bonsall, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Norman L. Sullivan Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Norman L. Sullivan Middle is 20.4:1, which is 6% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 30% 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 Norman L. Sullivan Middle?
35.1% of students at Norman L. Sullivan Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Norman L. Sullivan Middle?
The largest demographic group at Norman L. Sullivan Middle is White at 41.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bonsall, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Norman L. Sullivan Middle?
Norman L. Sullivan Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) 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.
Is Norman L. Sullivan Middle a good school?
Norman L. Sullivan Middle earns a D Resource Investment Index (40/100), with class sizes near the California median. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.