Enrollment
3
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Capitola, CA
Opal Cliffs
Federal NCES profile for Opal Cliffs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063729013055
👥 S:T ratio 88
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Opal Cliffs earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- 59
- Resource Index · Higher
- 3:1
- small classes for California
- 3
- students enrolled
Opal Cliffs has class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Soquel Union Elementary · California
NCES ID 063729013055 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
3:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-86% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Opal Cliffs compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Opal Cliffs
Opal Cliffs is a small elementary school in Capitola, California, enrolling 3 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 3:1, Opal Cliffs is leaner than roughly 99% of California schools and 86% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 99% of California schools, with 3 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 97% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
The surrounding Soquel Union Elementary spends $12,894 per pupil, 22% below the California average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Soquel Union Elementary also operates New Brighton Middle (585 students) and Main Street Elementary (383 students) alongside Opal Cliffs.
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 Opal Cliffs compares
Opal Cliffs on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 3:1 | ▼ 86% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 3 | top 100% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
3:1
Leaner classes than 99% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
3
Bigger than 0% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
3:1
students per teacher
- 86% below state mean
Top 1% in California - lower ratio than 100% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$12,894
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Soquel Union Elementary, which includes Opal Cliffs.
$12,894
Per student
-22%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 67.6%
State 23.2%
Federal 9.2%
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 Opal Cliffs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brighton Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Main Street Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Soquel Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Opal Cliffs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 585
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 383
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 337
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 214
- Students per teacher
- 26.8:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
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.
Similar enrollment (~3 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Opal Cliffs's federal record.
- Compare Opal Cliffs against another school. Compare schools
- Soquel Union Elementary's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Opal Cliffs
How many students attend Opal Cliffs?
Opal Cliffs has 3 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Capitola, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Opal Cliffs?
The student-teacher ratio at Opal Cliffs is 3:1, which is 86% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 81% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Opal Cliffs?
Opal Cliffs has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
Is Opal Cliffs a good school?
Opal Cliffs earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 Soquel Union Elementary?
Besides Opal Cliffs, Soquel Union Elementary also operates New Brighton Middle (585 students), Main Street Elementary (383 students), and Soquel Elementary (337 students). See the Soquel Union Elementary district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.