Enrollment
398
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 062949004547
Pajaro Middle — Watsonville, CA
Federal NCES profile for Pajaro Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 16
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 0
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 →
School address
District: Pajaro Valley 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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
86.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
+56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pajaro 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
Pajaro Middle reports 398 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% 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 15.9:1, it is 32% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 86.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 56% above the California average and 68% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 398 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 45.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pajaro Valley Unified spends $18,239 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.6% from local sources (property taxes), 56.5% from the state, and 12.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F), 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 Pajaro 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 | 21:1 | ▼ 3% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 86.8% | ▲ 56% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 398 | top 39% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 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
86.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 56% 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
21:1
students per teacher
— 3% below state mean
Top 39% in California — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
45.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,239
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 398 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 68 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 398 Top 39% in California — larger than 61% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 21:1 -3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 86.8% +56% vs state
NCES ID 062949004547
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 98.7%
White 0.8%
Asian 0.3%
Two or More 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 98.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 398:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 45.5%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 68
Expulsions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pajaro Valley Unified, which includes Pajaro Middle.
$18,239
Per student
+1%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.6%
State 56.5%
Federal 12.9%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,215
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 1,293
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,274
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Enrollment
- 626
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Enrollment
- 588
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
Similar middle schools in Watsonville
4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Rolling Hills Middle
Standard public school
588 students 22.1:1 students per teacher
Cesar E. Chavez Middle
Standard public school
548 students 21.2:1 students per teacher
E. a. Hall Middle
Standard public school
491 students 24.3:1 students per teacher
Lakeview Middle
Standard public school
425 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
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 Pajaro Middle
How many students attend Pajaro Middle?
Pajaro Middle has 398 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Watsonville, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pajaro Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Pajaro Middle is 21:1, which is 3% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 32% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pajaro Middle?
86.8% of students at Pajaro Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pajaro Middle?
The largest demographic group at Pajaro Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 98.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Watsonville, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pajaro Middle?
Pajaro Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F) 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.