Elementary school (grades K-5) · San Diego, CA

Ocean Air

Federal NCES profile for Ocean Air, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061074012091
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
25
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
10
📋 Attendance
80
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Ocean Air earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of California schools.

#43 of 179
elementary schools in San Diego · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
18.8:1
small classes for California
4.5%
free-lunch eligible

Ocean Air has class sizes smaller than 74% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Ocean Air ranks #43 of 179 elementary schools in San Diego, CA.

Enrollment

450

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

24.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

18.8:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-13% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

4.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

-92% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Ocean Air compares with California and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Ocean Air

Ocean Air is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in San Diego, California, enrolling 450 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 18.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 4.5% free-meal eligibility runs 92% below the California average.

With 450 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 590 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #327.

Its student body is led by Asian (50%) and White (30%) (diversity index 64/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 450 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance holds up well here: only 8.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Among San Diego's elementary schools, it stands alongside Albert Einstein Academies (1,448 students): Ocean Air is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (18.8:1 vs 24.1:1).

Del Mar Union Elementary also operates Carmel Del Mar Elementary (562 students) and Sage Canyon (457 students) alongside Ocean Air.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Ocean Air compares

Ocean Air on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 18.8:1 ▼ 13% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 4.5% ▼ 92% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 450 top 53% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

18.8:1
Leaner classes than 21% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
450
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
4.5%
free-lunch eligible - 92% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.8:1
students per teacher - 13% below state mean
Top 26% in California - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
8.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$18,416
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 450 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Asian 50.0%
White 30.4%
Two or More 10.9%
Hispanic or Latino 7.1%
African American 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Asian at 50.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 64.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 64.1, Ocean Air is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Del Mar Union Elementary, which includes Ocean Air.

$18,416
Per student
+12%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+11%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 84.4%
State 13.1%
Federal 2.5%

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.

How Ocean Air Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Carmel Del Mar Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Sage Canyon Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Torrey Hills Similar size Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Sycamore Ridge Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Pacific Sky Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Ocean Air's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Del Mar Union Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in San Diego

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Ocean Air's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Ocean Air

How many students attend Ocean Air?

Ocean Air has 450 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in San Diego, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Ocean Air?

The student-teacher ratio at Ocean Air is 18.8:1, which is 13% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 20% 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 Ocean Air?

4.5% of students at Ocean Air are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ocean Air?

The largest demographic group at Ocean Air is Asian at 50.0% of enrollment, in San Diego, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 64.1/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Ocean Air?

Ocean Air has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Ocean Air rank among elementary schools in San Diego?

By Resource Investment Index, Ocean Air ranks #43 of 179 elementary schools in San Diego, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in San Diego on the city page.

Is Ocean Air a good school?

Ocean Air earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of California schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Del Mar Union Elementary?

Besides Ocean Air, Del Mar Union Elementary also operates Carmel Del Mar Elementary (562 students), Sage Canyon (457 students), and Torrey Hills (389 students). See the Del Mar Union Elementary district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.