Elementary school (grades K-5) · Fullerton, CA

Pacific Drive Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Pacific Drive Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061473001800
0/100100/10041/100
👥 S:T ratio
3
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Pacific Drive Elementary earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 74% of California schools.

#11 of 18
elementary schools in Fullerton · Resource Index
41
Resource Index · Typical
24.3:1
large classes for California
68.7%
free-lunch eligible

Pacific Drive Elementary has class sizes larger than 74% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Pacific Drive Elementary ranks #11 of 18 elementary schools in Fullerton, CA.

Enrollment

607

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

25.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

24.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+13% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

68.7%

vs 55.5% California avg

+24% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Pacific Drive Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Pacific Drive Elementary

Pacific Drive Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Fullerton, California, enrolling 607 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 24.3:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 68.7% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 607 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

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

Among 2,113 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #106, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 16.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Fullerton's elementary schools, it stands alongside Robert C. Fisler Elementary (892 students): Pacific Drive Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (24.3:1 vs 27:1).

Fullerton Elementary also operates Robert C. Fisler Elementary (892 students) and Beechwood Elementary (872 students) alongside Pacific Drive Elementary.

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 Pacific Drive Elementary compares

Pacific Drive 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 24.3:1 ▲ 13% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 68.7% ▲ 24% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 607 top 31% - -

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

24.3:1
Leaner classes than 6% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
607
Bigger than 73% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
68.7%
free-lunch eligible - 24% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
24.3:1
students per teacher - 13% above state mean
Top 74% in California - lower ratio than 26% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
20.3%
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
$15,836
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
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.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 81.7%
White 8.6%
Asian 4.5%
Two or More 2.5%
African American 1.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 81.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.2, Pacific Drive Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fullerton Elementary, which includes Pacific Drive Elementary.

$15,836
Per student
-4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 40.1%
State 43.6%
Federal 16.2%

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 Pacific Drive Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Robert C. Fisler Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Beechwood Elementary Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
D. Russell Parks Junior High Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Sunset Lane Elementary Similar size Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Pacific Drive Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Fullerton Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Fullerton

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 Pacific Drive Elementary'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 Pacific Drive Elementary

How many students attend Pacific Drive Elementary?

Pacific Drive Elementary has 607 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Fullerton, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Pacific Drive Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Pacific Drive Elementary is 24.3:1, which is 13% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 55% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pacific Drive Elementary?

68.7% of students at Pacific Drive Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pacific Drive Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Pacific Drive Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 81.7% of enrollment, in Fullerton, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Pacific Drive Elementary?

Pacific Drive Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Pacific Drive Elementary rank among elementary schools in Fullerton?

By Resource Investment Index, Pacific Drive Elementary ranks #11 of 18 elementary schools in Fullerton, 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 Fullerton on the city page.

Is Pacific Drive Elementary a good school?

Pacific Drive Elementary earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger 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 Fullerton Elementary?

Besides Pacific Drive Elementary, Fullerton Elementary also operates Robert C. Fisler Elementary (892 students), Beechwood Elementary (872 students), and D. Russell Parks Junior High (854 students). See the Fullerton 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.

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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.