Elementary school (grades K-5) · Los Angeles, CA

Palms Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Palms Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062271003266
0/100100/10038/100
👥 S:T ratio
43
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Palms Elementary earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% of California schools.

#53 of 344
elementary schools in Los Angeles · Resource Index
38
Resource Index · Typical
14.3:1
small classes for California
70.0%
free-lunch eligible

Palms Elementary has class sizes smaller than 90% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Palms Elementary ranks #53 of 344 elementary schools in Los Angeles, CA.

Enrollment

229

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

16.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.3:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-33% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

70.0%

vs 55.5% California avg

+26% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Palms Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than 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 Palms Elementary

Palms Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Los Angeles, California, enrolling 229 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 14.3:1, Palms Elementary is leaner than roughly 90% of California schools and 33% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 70.0% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 229 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

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

Against 714 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #188.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (59%) and African American (12%) (diversity index 61/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 41.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Los Angeles Unified spends $21,940 per pupil, 33% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 19.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Los Angeles's elementary schools, it stands alongside Wish Community (860 students): Palms Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.3:1 vs 23.2:1).

Los Angeles Unified also operates Grover Cleveland Charter High (2,719 students) and North Hollywood Senior High (2,444 students) alongside Palms 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 Palms Elementary compares

Palms 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 14.3:1 ▼ 33% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 70.0% ▲ 26% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 229 top 81% - -

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

14.3:1
Leaner classes than 54% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
229
Bigger than 23% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
70.0%
free-lunch eligible - 26% 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
14.3:1
students per teacher - 33% below state mean
Top 10% in California - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
41.9%
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
$21,940
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
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 59.0%
African American 11.8%
Asian 11.8%
Two or More 9.2%
White 8.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 59.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 60.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 60.9, Palms Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Los Angeles Unified, which includes Palms Elementary.

$21,940
Per student
+33%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 54.5%
Federal 19.2%

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 Palms Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Grover Cleveland Charter High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
North Hollywood Senior High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Phineas Banning Senior High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
San Pedro Senior High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Venice Senior High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Los Angeles Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Los Angeles

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 Palms 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 Palms Elementary

How many students attend Palms Elementary?

Palms Elementary has 229 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Los Angeles, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Palms Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Palms Elementary is 14.3:1, which is 33% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 9% lower 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 Palms Elementary?

70.0% of students at Palms Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palms Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Palms Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 59.0% of enrollment, in Los Angeles, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.9/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Palms Elementary?

Palms Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Palms Elementary rank among elementary schools in Los Angeles?

By Resource Investment Index, Palms Elementary ranks #53 of 344 elementary schools in Los Angeles, 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 Los Angeles on the city page.

Is Palms Elementary a good school?

Palms Elementary earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 90% 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 Los Angeles Unified?

Besides Palms Elementary, Los Angeles Unified also operates Grover Cleveland Charter High (2,719 students), North Hollywood Senior High (2,444 students), and Phineas Banning Senior High (2,422 students). See the Los Angeles Unified 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.