Enrollment
740
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · San Jose, CA
Orchard Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Orchard Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062868004460
👥 S:T ratio 34
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 26
📋 Attendance 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Orchard Elementary earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 86% of California schools.
- #71 of 154
- elementary schools in San Jose · Resource Index
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 16.4:1
- small classes for California
- 39.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Orchard Elementary has class sizes smaller than 86% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Orchard Elementary ranks #71 of 154 elementary schools in San Jose, CA.
School address
District: Orchard Elementary · California
NCES ID 062868004460 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
45.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Orchard Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Orchard Elementary
Orchard Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in San Jose, California, enrolling 740 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 16.4:1, Orchard Elementary is leaner than roughly 86% of California schools and 24% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 39.1% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 740 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 1,238 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #513.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (47%) and Asian (37%) (diversity index 64/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 370 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among San Jose's elementary schools, it stands alongside Easterbrook Discovery (952 students): Orchard Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (16.4:1 vs 22.1:1).
Orchard Elementary operates only this one school, so Orchard Elementary has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Orchard Elementary compares
Orchard Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.4:1 | ▼ 24% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.1% | ▼ 30% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 740 | top 21% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.4:1
Leaner classes than 35% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
740
Bigger than 83% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
39.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 30% 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
16.4:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 14% in California - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
27.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,809
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 370 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 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
Hispanic or Latino 46.9%
Asian 36.5%
Two or More 6.2%
White 4.5%
African American 3.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 46.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 63.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 63.9, Orchard Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orchard Elementary, which includes Orchard Elementary.
$17,809
Per student
+8%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 81.8%
State 10.3%
Federal 7.9%
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.
Similar elementary schools in San Jose
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Easterbrook Discovery
Standard public school
952 students 22.1:1 students per teacher
Merritt Trace Elementary
Standard public school
829 students 23:1 students per teacher
Tom Matsumoto Elementary
Standard public school
727 students 24.2:1 students per teacher
Herman (Leonard) Intermediate
Standard public school
723 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Booksin Elementary
Standard public school
715 students 23.8:1 students per teacher
Willow Glen Elementary
Standard public school
660 students 21.3:1 students per teacher
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 (~740 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Orchard Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Orchard Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Orchard 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 Orchard Elementary
How many students attend Orchard Elementary?
Orchard Elementary has 740 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in San Jose, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Orchard Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Orchard Elementary is 16.4:1, which is 24% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 4% 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 Orchard Elementary?
39.1% of students at Orchard Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Orchard Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Orchard Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 46.9% of enrollment, in San Jose, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 63.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Orchard Elementary?
Orchard Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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 Orchard Elementary rank among elementary schools in San Jose?
By Resource Investment Index, Orchard Elementary ranks #71 of 154 elementary schools in San Jose, 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 Jose on the city page.
Is Orchard Elementary a good school?
Orchard Elementary earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 86% 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 Orchard Elementary?
None reported; Orchard Elementary operates only Orchard Elementary as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.