Enrollment
573
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Orosi, CA
Palm Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Palm Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 061035001160
👥 S:T ratio 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 8
📋 Attendance 39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Palm Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Orosi · Resource Index
- 23
- Resource Index · Lower
- 21.2:1
- students per teacher
- 87.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Palm Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Palm Elementary ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Orosi, CA.
School address
District: Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified · California
NCES ID 061035001160 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.2:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
87.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palm Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Palm Elementary
Palm Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Orosi, California, enrolling 573 students.
At 21.2:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 87.7% of students qualify for free meals, 58% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 573 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 1,643 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #959.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (96% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 8/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 458 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 20.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Orosi's elementary schools, it stands alongside Golden Valley Elementary (603 students): Palm Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (21.2:1 vs 19.5:1).
Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified also operates Orosi High (1,108 students) and El Monte Middle (844 students) alongside Palm 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 Palm Elementary compares
Palm 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 | 21.2:1 | ▼ 1% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 87.7% | ▲ 58% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 573 | top 35% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
21.2:1
Leaner classes than 12% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
573
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
87.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 58% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21.2:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 45% in California - lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
24.4%
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
$16,882
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors1.3 FTE
Per 458 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 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 96.0%
Asian 2.3%
White 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 96.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 7.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 7.8, Palm Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified, which includes Palm Elementary.
$16,882
Per student
+2%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 8.4%
State 70.9%
Federal 20.7%
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 Palm Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orosi High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| El Monte Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Cutler Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Golden Valley Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lovell High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Palm Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,108
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 844
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 607
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 603
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 20/100
- Enrollment
- 54
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
Similar elementary schools in Orosi
1 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.
Similar enrollment (~573 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Palm Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Palm Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified'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 Palm Elementary
How many students attend Palm Elementary?
Palm Elementary has 573 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Orosi, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palm Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Palm Elementary is 21.2:1, which is 1% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 35% 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 Palm Elementary?
87.7% of students at Palm Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palm Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Palm Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 96.0% of enrollment, in Orosi, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palm Elementary?
Palm Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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 Palm Elementary rank among public schools in Orosi?
By Resource Investment Index, Palm Elementary ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Orosi, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Orosi on the city page.
Is Palm Elementary a good school?
Palm Elementary earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified?
Besides Palm Elementary, Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified also operates Orosi High (1,108 students), El Monte Middle (844 students), and Cutler Elementary (607 students). See the Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified 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.